China Manufacturing Expands a Fourth Month, PMI Shows

July 1 (Bloomberg) -- China’s manufacturing expanded for a fourth month as government stimulus spending and record bank lending sparked a recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.2 in June from 53.1 in May, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing in an e-mailed statement. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.

China’s economy may keep improving in the third and fourth quarters, enabling the nation to meet its 8 percent economic growth target for this year, central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said this week. Prices of copper, used for autos and construction, are headed for their biggest six-month gain in 22 years as Chinese buyers boost imports to records to replenish stockpiles.

“China’s recovery is gathering further momentum,” said Lu Ting, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. “It has been recovering faster than the market had expected.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=amtKInGsxJKo

 

1) Is that the most they could "manipulate" the index? A tenth of a point!
2) Be careful! :eek: