China’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March, an official factory survey showed on Sunday.
The report offers relief to policymakers amid a crisis in the China’s property sector that been a drag on the economy and confidence.
The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.8 in March from 49.1 in February, above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and topping a median forecast of 49.9 in a Reuters poll.
Recent upbeat indicators suggest the world’s second-largest economy is slowly getting back on better footing, leading analysts to start upgrading their growth forecasts for the year.
Policymakers have wrestled with persistent economic sluggishness since the abandonment of China’s strict COVID curbs in late 2022.
“However, a deep slump in the Asian giant’s property sector remains a major drag on growth, testing the health of heavily indebted local governments and state-owned banks’ balance sheets.
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