Robotic arms are busy working on the assembly line in Geely Auto factory in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 49.5 this month, slightly up from 49.4 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.
The slight increase ended month-on-month declines reported in the previous four months in a row, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said in a statement.
The sub-indices for production and raw material inventories both edged up from December, while those for new orders, employment, and supplier delivery time dropped to different extents.
This month, the non-manufacturing PMI rose 0.9 points from December to 54.7, and the composite PMI output index rose 0.6 points to 53.2, the NBS data showed.
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China's non-manufacturing sector expands faster in January
China's non-manufacturing sector picked up pace in January, an encouraging sign for the government's push for a services-driven economy.
The non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 54.7 this month, up from 53.8 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on Thursday.
