Manufacturing Activity in China Returns to Growth in October, Ending Five Months of Contraction

Forex - China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) returned to growth in October, ending five consecutive months of contraction. The manufacturing PMI signaled that the world's second-largest economy might be on the verge of a recovery, bolstered by recent policy support from Beijing. According to a statement from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday, the official manufacturing PMI, which measures sentiment among factory owners, increased to 50.1 in October from 49.8 in September, surpassing the 49.5 predicted by economists surveyed by Chinese financial data provider Wind. The last positive PMI was recorded at 50.4 in April. The National Bureau of Statistics indicated that the data showed "the business environment of the manufacturing sector is recovering."