The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 49.8 in August, up 0.6 percentage points from July, official data showed Monday.
The production sub-index came in at 50.4, while the new orders index stood at 50.6, up 0.5 and 2.1 percentage points from July respectively, according to the data jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
This sector saw a notable rebound in domestic demand and an improvement in overseas market demand.
"Among the 21 sectors surveyed, 16 experienced a month-on-month increase in PMI. The industry outlook has improved significantly," said Huo Lihui, a chief statistician at the NBS.
"In August, both domestic and international market demands for manufacturing expanded. The new orders and export orders indexes showed significant year-on-year and month-on-month growth. The month-on-month change in market demand outperformed that of the same period last year, reflecting the effectiveness of policy measures in enhancing economic momentum," said He Hui, vice president of the CFLP.
Due to the influence of extreme weather conditions such as high temperatures, typhoons, heavy rain and floods, the PMI for the manufacturing sector remained below 50 percent in August.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 reflects contraction.
Driven by effective policies to expand domestic demand, increased investment guided by the central government budget, and accelerated construction of major projects, the index has rebounded markedly from the previous month. Additionally, steady summer consumption and rising international demand contributed to this positive momentum.
China's manufacturing PMI at 49.8 in August
