China mftg sector PMI up in July; raises hopes of recovery

China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose slightly to 50.3 per cent in July from 50.1 per cent in June raising hopes of recovery.
The manufacturing PMI has stayed above the boom-bust line of 50 per cent for 10 months in a row, according to data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
Zhang Liqun, analyst with the Development Research Center of China's cabinet said the slight rise signalled a stabilising trend in the country's economy.
China's economy has been stuck in a protracted slowdown, easing to 7.5-per cent growth in the second quarter from 7.7 per cent in the first three months.

Zhang was quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency as saying that market expectations for stabilised economic growth have been strengthening and market demand is generally stable.
Data showed that the sub-index for new orders rose 0.2 percentage points to 50.6 per cent, while that for new export orders was up by 1.3 percentage points from June to 49 per cent last month.

Most sub-indices increased from a month earlier, the CFLP said.
The sub-index for production moved up 0.4 percentage points from June to 52.4 per cent, while that for raw material inventories was up 0.2 percentage points from June to 47.6 per cent.

The sub-index for the purchasing prices of major raw materials surged 5.5 percentage points to 50.1 per cent in July, while the employment sub-index edged up 0.4 percentage points to 49.1 per cent.
The business outlook sub-index rose 2.3 percentage points to 56.4 per cent, ending a dropping trend for the previous three months and signalling that more companies are positive about their business prospects for the next three months.