China’s purchasing managers’ index, a key indicator for manufacturing activity, reached three-month high in February and returned to positive territory as the country ramped up measures to boost the economy.
The PMI in February was 50.2 compared with 49.1 in January and 50.1 in December.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 reflects contraction.
Analysts believe that January PMI had been hit by a slow season in the manufacturing sector due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
PMI was sluggish in the second half of last year until it slightly improved in October and November, reaching 50.1 and 50.3 per cent respectively.
Zhao Qinghe, from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), told state news agency Xinhua the PMI data for February had been influenced by factors such as enterprises resuming production after the Spring Festival holiday.
NBS data also showed that the sub-indices for production and new orders came in at 52.5 and 51.1, respectively.
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