China’s manufacturing sector returned to expansion in June, with the official purchasing managers’ index climbing to 50.3 from 50.0 in May, as global demand for artificial-intelligence hardware powered a rebound in high-tech exports.
A reading above 50 indicates that factory activity is growing rather than shrinking
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a median reading of 50.0. Overseas demand showed signs of revival, with the new export orders sub-index climbing from 48.6 in May to 50.1. Gauges tracking output and total new orders each moved higher, to 51.4 and 51.2.
At 53.5 in June, the PMI for high-tech equipment manufacturing ran well ahead of the headline factory reading, according to CNBC. Separately, profits at manufacturers of computers, communication equipment and other electronic equipment rose 103.9% year on year in the January-to-May period, according to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Profits across all industrial enterprises above the designated size grew 18.8% over the same period. “Exports to meet international demand for chips and other AI-related products, as well as front-loading to get ahead of new U.S.