China’s economy appears to be stabilizing after an extended period of turbulence following the release of the country’s latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The report, published by the National Bureau of Statistics, found that factory activity in the world’s second-largest economy is expanding for the first time in six months.
The PMI, which surveyed a range of major manufacturers, climbed to 50.2 in September from 49.7 in August and beat a forecast of 50. The 50-point mark is what separates manufacturing activity contraction from expansion. China’s non-manufacturing PMI, which covers the service sector activity and construction, rose from 51.0 in August to 51.7 in September.
Zhou Hao, chief economist at Guotai Junan International, observed that “The manufacturing PMI, plus the good industrial profit figures, suggest that the economy is gradually bottoming out.”