Manufacturing PMI swings to growth

China's manufacturing sector expanded in November for the first time in 13 months, a preliminary gauge of the country's manufacturing activity showed Thursday, reinforcing views that the recovery of the economy is stabilizing.

A flash reading of China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a gauge of performance in the manufacturing industry, rose to 50.4 in November from a final reading of 49.5 in October, HSBC Holdings PLC said Thursday.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

"HSBC manufacturing PMI bounced back to expansion territory for the first time in 13 months, confirming that the economic recovery continues to gain momentum toward the year end," said Qu Hongbin, HSBC's chief economist for China.

A sub-index, manufacturing output, rose to 51.3 in November, also the highest in 13 months and up from October's final reading of 48.2.

Among other sub-indexes, new export orders grew sharply although overall new orders slowed.

"The HSBC reading confirms our views that the economic recovery will continue throughout the fourth quarter and our forecast that the economy may grow 7.9 or 8 percent in the fourth quarter," Tang Jianwei, a researcher with the Bank of Communications in Shanghai, told the Global Times Thursday.

"Such a trend has already been reflected in a lot of economic data released in the past two months measuring both domestic and external demand," Tang said.

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