- Shen Jianguang, economist at Mizuho
China's manufacturing activity rebounded in March for the first time since December, indicating that Beijing's measures to underpin the world's second biggest economy are having an effect. The official manufacturing PMI, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, rose to 50.1 in the reported month, up from 49.9 in February. On the index, a figure above the crucial 50-mark threshold signals expansion of activity in factories and workshops, while anything below indicates contraction. Sub-indexes measuring new orders and new export orders both declined in March from February levels, whereas the production sub-index improved. However, according to the HSBC, China's manufacturing PMI dropped to a final reading of 49.6 in March from 50.7 a month earlier. The final reading appeared to be higher than the preliminary March PMI of 49.2, released March 24. The preliminary data is based on 85% to 90% of responses to the PMI survey.
China set an annual growth goal in March of about 7%, compared with the actual growth of 7.4% in 2014, the slowest in nearly a quarter century. With momentum slipping and companies facing mounting debt, China's government has in recent months cut interest rate twice and reduced bank-reserve requirements. On Monday, Beijing reduced down payment requirements for home buyers in a an attempt to support the property market.
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