China Factory Gauge Jumps in March, Services Remain Robust

• March 31 2018

Activity at China’s manufacturers rallied, showing fresh strength amid escalating trade tensions and curbs to cut debt and pollution.

Activity at China’s manufacturers rallied, showing fresh strength amid escalating trade tensions and curbs to cut debt and pollution.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 51.5 in March versus the 50.6 estimate in Bloomberg’s survey and 50.3 last month. The non-manufacturing PMI, covering services and construction, stood at 54.6, the statistics bureau said Saturday, compared with 54.4 in February. Levels above 50 indicate improvement.

Industrial activity is helping the world’s biggest exporter power through the uncertainty from President Donald Trump announcing fresh tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports and Beijing’s own retaliation against levies on metals. Overseas shipments surged in February on strong demand amid a synchronized global expansion.

“We don’t think trade frictions will change the condition of the economy,” Hua Changchun, global chief economist at Guotai Junan Securities Co. in Shenzhen, wrote in a note ahead of the release. He expects China’s exports will expand between 8 percent and 15 percent this year.

— With assistance by Xiaoqing Pi, and Miao Han