China’s official gauges measuring services, manufacturing and construction activity all rebounded sharply in January as the nation recovered quickly from a surge in COVID infections in the wake of a sudden reopening at the end of last year.
China’s nonmanufacturing PMI, which covers service and construction activity, rose to 54.4 in January, up sharply from 41.6 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.
It was the first time the nonmanufacturing PMI rebounded to above the 50 level, which separates activity contraction from expansion, after staying in contractionary territory for three straight months.
The subindex measuring services activity jumped to 54.0 in January from December’s 39.4, while the subindex measuring construction rose to 56.4 from 54.4 in December.
Meanwhile, the official manufacturing PMI also rebounded to 50.1 in January from 47.0 in December, the statistics bureau said. The reading, which indicated activity expansion for the first time in four months, undershot the forecast of 50.4 by economists.
The subindex measuring factory production increased to 49.8 from 44.6 in December, while total new orders rose to 50.9 from December’s 43.9. The subindex of new export orders rose to 46.1 in January from 44.2 in December.
