Positive China signal as official PMI shows growth

China's manufacturing activity expanded in December for a third straight month, official data showed Tuesday, adding to signs the world's number two economy is emerging from a prolonged downtrend.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 50.6 in December, unchanged from the previous month, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics.

The PMI is a widely watched barometer of the health of China's economy, with a reading above 50 indicating expansion while anything below points to contraction. October's reading was 50.2, after two months in negative territory.

The December result remained the joint-highest since April, but fell short of the median 51.0 forecast of five economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The data came a day after banking giant HSBC's own PMI survey reached a 19-month high of 51.5, from 50.5 in November. Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists Lu Ting and Hu Weijun questioned whether the official PMI data may have been slightly massaged.

AFP