China Manufacturing Stabilizes Near a Post-2012 High
- Official factory gauge at 51.4 in December, services at 54.5
- Materials, logistics costs are highest in recent years: NBS
A woman works in a shirt factory in Nantong, in China's Jiangsu province on December 1, 2016. China's manufacturing activity growth accelerated in November, official data showed, reaching its fastest pace in more than two years as cheap credit and improving demand helped revive industry in the world's second-largest economy. / AFP / STR / China OUT (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Source: AFP via Getty ImagesChina’s official factory gauge stabilized near a post-2012 high in December, capping a year of steady improvement and signaling policy makers have leeway to curb financial risks while keeping growth humming. The services gauge remained elevated. Input prices jumped.
The gains add to evidence of year-end strengthening that’s giving authorities room to pursue economic rebalancing. Early private indicators for December show large and small firms saw stronger momentum as sentiment among executives improved. China’s expansion picked up to about 7 percent last month, a monthly tracker by Bloomberg Intelligence shows.