China’s factory activity expands for first time in four months- official PMI

A worker polishes a bicycle steel rim at a factory manufacturing sports equipment in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 2, 2019. China Daily via REUTERS

BEIJING, June 30 (Reuters) – China’s factory activity expanded for the first time in four months, after authorities ended the lockdown in Shanghai, although growth missed analysts’ expectations, an official survey showed on Thursday.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.2 in June from 49.6 in May, marking the first expansion since February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

The 50-point mark separates contraction from growth on a monthly basis.

A Reuters poll had expected the PMI to come in at 50.5.

Reporting by Ella Cao, Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.