China’s manufacturing sector expands for 6 months in row, private survey shows

China’s factory activity expanded for the sixth straight month in October as business confidence grew to its strongest in years, a private survey showed on Monday.

The Caixin/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index for Chinese manufacturing came in at 53.6 for October, better than the 53.0 forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The latest reading was the highest since January 2011, the survey results showed.

PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction. PMI readings are sequential and indicate month-on-month expansion or contraction.

China’s vast manufacturing industry has been recovering as the country’s coronavirus outbreak appears largely under control.

The October Caixin/Markit PMI showed that the country’s manufacturing recovery has continued to pick up speed, said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.