(NBS) China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to 50.2 in February, surpassing estimates of 49.8.
The gains in manufacturing happen amid several measures to boost liquidity by the Chinese government, including a reduction of the main rate, boosted credit flows, and lower reserve requirements.
The non-manufacturing index, gauging activity in the service and construction sectors, also beat estimates to reach 51.6 in February.
New export orders rose to 49 from 48.4 in January, with trade now remaining in the stable territory in the first two months of 2022.
The surge in China’s activity comes after the week-long Lunar New Year holidays, which always slow down growth at the start of every year.
Growth in China also reflects broad improvements in Southeast Asia as most countries recovered from the omicron impacts.
Small firms in China still continued to face slowdowns, with the activity falling to the weakest since February 2020.
Headwinds in material supplies and bottlenecks persisted, while input and output charges showed a continued increase.
China’s senior strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Xing Zhaopeng, says Beijing will now tailor its policy support to small businesses. He says the support will shift from monetary easing to tailored and targeted policies.
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