In March this year, the China HSBC Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) increased to 51.7, higher compared to the final value of 50.4 in February, as announced by the HSBC.
The sub-index measuring factory output rose in March to 52.8, recovering from 50.8 in February, the HSBC said. Sub-indexes tracking new orders and new export orders both showed an accelerating pace of growth, pointing to support for manufacturing output in the near future.
The rebound of the PMI for the manufacturing sector in China in March has mainly been driven by the increase of new orders and the acceleration of production, indicating that the Chinese economy is still on track for a gradual growth recovery, stated Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at the HSBC.
However, the input and output indices were both below 50. Although China’s consumer price index (CPI) increased by 3.2 percent in February, reaching a 10-month high, most economists believe that China’s inflation will remain under control in the first half of this year. China’s CPI is expected to rise by 3.5 percent year on year in 2013, higher than the 2.6 percent increase seen in 2012, as stated by China’s central government.