Confirmation from the two surveys of Chinese manufacturing that the country’s economic rebound is strengthening.
Yesterday the private survey from Caixin/Market showed China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a decade in July as domestic demand continued to improve.
On Friday the official government survey showed a small rise (which surprised) that was nowhere near the jump in the Caixin/Markit survey outcome
Offsetting this positive were weak readings for export orders and employment which have been a constant now in the past three months as the pace of recovery has slowly improved.
The survey’s index rose to 52.8 last month from June’s 51.2, marking the sector’s third consecutive month of growth and the biggest jump since January 2011.
(The 50-mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis).
China reported 180 new cases overnight and 6 new deaths on Sunday.
The private survey was much stronger than the official survey on Friday from the National Bureau of Statistics. It concentrates in big companies which the private survey asks small to medium groups for their responses.
The Official NBS Manufacturing survey rose to 51.1 in July from 50.9 in the previous month.
This was the fifth straight month of increase in factory activity and the strongest since March.
Output grew the most in four months (54.0 vs 53.9 in June), while both new orders (51.7 vs 51.4) and buying levels (52.4 vs 51.8) went up for the fifth month in a row and at a faster pace.
Meantime, both export sales (48.4 vs 42.6) and employment shrank at softer rates (49.3 vs 49.1).
Prices data showed input cost advanced for the third month running and at a stronger rate (58.1 vs 56.8), while selling prices rose for the second consecutive month (52.2 vs 52.4). Looking ahead, sentiment edged up (57.8 vs 57.5).
