China's PMI growth hits 18-month high
Updated: 2013-11-01 09:25BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to 51.4 percent in October, hitting a new high since May 2012, according to new data released Friday.
The figure was 0.3 percentage points higher than September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed.
China's manufacturing PMI has risen for four consecutive months, showing a steady upward trend in manufacturing. A figure above 50 percent signals expansion.
Zhao Qinghe, a senior NBS statistician, attributed the strong PMI to expanding production after corporate confidence was boosted by government measures this year to stabilize growth and restructure the economy.
The sub-index for production rose for a fourth month to 54.4 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from September.
As production picked up, companies also bought more raw materials, driving the sub-index for materials purchasing up 0.2 percentage points to 52.7 percent.
Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council, also said the October figure confirmed the stabilizing trend of the country's economic growth.
China's gross domestic output (GDP) expanded by 7.7 percent in the first nine months, which is higher than the government's full-year target of 7.5 percent. GDP growth in the third quarter accelerated to 7.8 percent from 7.5 percent in the second, NBS data showed.
The new figure was in line with the final October PMI released Friday by the HSBC, which shows the manufacturing PMI rose to a seven-month high of 50.9 percent.
Qu Hongbin, chief economist with HSBC, said the strong momentum should in turn support private consumption growth in the coming months. "China is on the track for a gradual growth."