MNI DATA IMPACT: China Caixin March Mfg PMI Back Above 50

     BEIJING (MNI) - The Caixin China manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index

(PMI) jumped 0.9 points to 50.8 in March, after 4 months in contraction

territory, as new orders recovered in a sign that factory activities in China

may be picking up.

     New orders, which indicates future activity levels, saw a moderate increase

for the second month, showing a sign of further strengthening, Caixin said in a

statement. 

     New export orders also saw a slight rebound, reversing the contraction last

month. The indicator has stabilized in Q1, shaking off the downward pressure in

2018, Caixin said.

     The manufacturing industry's confidence in the business outlook rose to a

ten-month high, as they expected the improved market expectation, new products,

capacity expansion to boost output, though their confidence was still lower than

the long-term average level.

     The Caixin figure was in line with the upward trend of the official PMI,

reported by the National Bureau of Statistics Sunday as rebounding to 50.5 from

49.2 in February.

     The Caixin PMI tracks small and medium sized manufacturers that are not

surveyed by the NBS.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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