China's manufacturing PMI improves in August

China's August factory activity improved marginally but still indicated contraction for a fifth consecutive month, official data showed on Thursday.

The official purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector inched up to 49.7 in August, up from 49.3 in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday, remaining below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from growth. August's reading was slightly better than the 49.4 forecast in a Reuters poll. Reuters, the official purchasing managers' index (PMI), is expected to have edged up to 49.4 in August)

The sub-index for production came in at 51.9 in August from 50.2 in July, while the gauge for new orders stood at 50.2 versus 49.5 in July, the NBS said. 

Zhao Qinghe, a senior NBS statistician, said manufacturers expressed more robust optimism and confidence with the help of a raft of supportive government measures announced recently, with the gauge for manufacturers' expectations for their production and operation increasing to 55.6 in August from 55.1 in July. 

China's non-manufacturing PMI came in at 51 in August, down from 51.5 a month earlier. Also, the country's official composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities, came in at 51.3 in August compared with 51.1 in July, according to the NBS.

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn