Economics

Will Manufacturing Reverse China’s Economic Slump?

A worker on the production line at a plant operated by Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile in Wuhan, ChinaPhotographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
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Amid a lot of recent gloom, finally some decent news about the Chinese economy: A manufacturing index released today came in above expectations, suggesting China’s recent lackluster growth may have turned the corner.

A gauge of Chinese companies’ purchasing managers by HSBC and Markit Economics rose to a five-month high in May, with a preliminary reading of 49.7, higher than the 48.3 estimate in a survey of analysts by Bloomberg News and up significantly from April’s final reading of 48.1. Today’s survey, the so-called flash PMI, gathers data from 85 percent to 90 percent of companies polled; the final reading will be released on June 3.