Manufacturing sector sees pickup in November, NBS data shows

China’s manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace in November, official data showed on Thursday.

The country’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 51.8, up from 51.6 in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 reflects contraction.

“The data beat market expectations, and pointed to continued resilience in China’s growth headed into year-end,” said Tom Orlik, Bloomberg’s chief Asia economist, in a research note.

“The economy remains in a sweet spot – with policy makers facing little trade-off between the conflicting objectives of growth and deleveraging,” Orlik said.

Sub-indices for production and new orders came in at 54.3 and 53.6, respectively, up from 53.4 and 52.9 last month, indicating accelerated growth in both supply and demand, according to senior NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Companies were more willing to buy, with the sub-index for purchase volume surging to 53.5, the second-highest reading this year.

Equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing continued to see robust growth, with the sub-indices coming in at 52.9 and 53.2 respectively, suggesting improved industrial structure, according to the NBS data.

External demand also bounced back, with the subindex for new export orders edging up to 50.8 from 50.1 in October.

China’s manufacturing PMI has been in positive territory for 16 consecutive months.