MNI BRIEF: China March PMI Hits One-year High

China's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose by 0.3 points to 50.5 in March, staying above the breakeven 50 mark for the second month to hit the highest level since April 2024, as manufacturers accelerated production and as the holiday effect faded, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

The production and new orders sub-indices increased by 0.1 and 0.7 points to 52.6 and 51.8, both staying in the expansion range for the second month.

The non-manufacturing PMI registered 50.8, up 0.4 points from the previous month. The business activity sub-index for the service sector edged up by 0.3 points to 50.3. The expectation sub-index was up 0.6 points to a high prosperity range of 57.5, indicating businesses' positiveness for recent market developments.