China’s manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in more than a decade in February, as demand rebounded after scrapping nearly three years of zero-Covid curbs.
The official manufacturing PMI, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, came in at 52.6, well above economists’ expectations of 50.5 and the highest level since April 2012. The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction.
China’s manufacturing sector returned to growth in January after Beijing abandoned its policy of applying travel restrictions, quarantines and lockdowns to keep Covid-19 cases to a minimum. That was followed by almost three years of prolonged restrictions that put pressure on demand and production in the world’s second largest economy.
The February reading was boosted by particularly strong production and new orders readings, suggesting a recovery in both demand and supply. But the sub-index tracking raw material stocks at factories remained in contraction territory, while a gauge monitoring employment levels saw only modest expansion.
Also on Wednesday, Caixin China’s headline manufacturing PMI, a closely watched private activity gauge, came in at 51.6, its first expansion in seven months. The official measure puts a greater focus on larger state-owned companies.
China’s recovery stood in sharp contrast to economic data elsewhere in the region, according to a private survey, with Japanese factory activity contracting at the fastest pace in more than two years, according to a private survey.
South Korean exports, meanwhile, posted their fifth straight monthly decline.
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