Business sentiment among Chinese purchasing managers rose in July, according to figures released on Thursday.
The purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.3 per cent from 50.1 in June, statistics from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) showed.
A figure above 50 generally means a positive outlook in the manufacturing sector, while below 50 is taken as a negative reading.
Commentators had expected a slight fall in the index.
China’s economy grew at a rate of 7.5 per cent in the second quarter compared to 7.8 per cent last year.
Data showed that the sub-index for new orders rose 0.2 percentage points to 50.6 per cent, while that for new export orders was up by 1.3 percentage points from June to 49 per cent last month.
Most sub-indices increased from a month earlier, the CFLP said.
The sub-index for production moved up 0.4 percentage points from June to 52.4 per cent, while that for raw material inventories was up 0.2 percentage points from June to 47.6 per cent.
The sub-index for the purchasing prices of major raw materials surged 5.5 percentage points to 50.1 per cent in July, while the employment sub-index edged up 0.4 percentage points to 49.1 per cent.
The business outlook sub-index rose 2.3 percentage points to 56.4 per cent, ending a dropping trend for the previous three months and signalling that more companies are positive about their business prospects for the next three months.