Indicating an expansion in China's manufacturing sector, the CLSA Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI, rose in April for the first time in nine months.
Monday, reports said citing CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets that the PMI rose to 50.1 in April from 44.8 in the prior month. A reading above 50 suggests expansion in the manufacturing activity.
Among the sub-indicators, the export order index climbed to 48.8 in April from 41.4 in March and the output index rose to 51.3 from 44.3. The employment index was at 50.9, up from 47.1.
The increase was consistent with the official PMI, released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on behalf of the National Bureau of Statistics on May 1. It rose to 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March, above the 50-mark for the second straight month.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.