China manufacturing index steady at 19-month high

Workers at clothing factory in Bozhou China's manufacturing growth in November maintained its strong pace from the previous month to stay at a 19-month high, official figures showed on Sunday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) was at 51.4, unchanged from October, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website.
It was up from 51.1 in September and the highest since reaching 53.3 in April 2012.
A reading above 50 signals expansion while a figure below indicates contraction.
The figure was a further indication that the world's second-largest economy is gradually emerging from a growth slowdown at the start of the year, although analysts have warned that weaknesses remain.
Official data in October showed that China's economy, an important driver of regional and global growth, expanded 7.8 percent from July to September, snapping two quarters of slowing.
Analysts said the jump resulted largely from a government stimulus since late June that included increased rail and urban fixed-asset investment, tax cuts and looser monetary policy.
The official PMI has risen steadily from 50.1 since June of this year.
Meanwhile the preliminary PMI reading for November from HSBC, another closely watched figure, slipped to 50.4 after a seven-month rise.
It was the second-highest reading from the British banking giant since March, down from 50.9 in October.
HSBC economist Qu Hongbin in Hong Kong attributed the drop to "weak new export orders" and the "slowing pace of restocking activities".
The bank's final PMI reading for the month is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.
Source: AFP