Chinese manufacturing rallied to at least an 8-month high in November

REUTERS/Stringer

• China's manufacturing sector staged a surprise recovery in November.
• The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) returned a reading of 50.2, up from 49.3 in October, and its highest score since March.
• The Caixin/IHS Markit manufacturing PMI reading was 51.8, signaling the sector's fastest rate of expansion since December 2016.
• The rally comes after President Donald Trump said last month that the US had reached a "very substantial phase-one deal" with China in their talks to end the trade war.
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China's manufacturing sector staged a surprise recovery in November, according to both state and private surveys.

The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) returned a reading of 50.2, up from 49.3 in October, and its highest score since March. A reading above 50 indicates a sector is expanding, while one below 50 suggests it's contracting.

Similarly, the Caixin/IHS Markit manufacturing PMI reading was 51.8, signaling the sector's fastest rate of expansion since December 2016. Economists polled by Reuters expected the index to have dropped from 51.7 in October to 51.4 in November.

"The PMI data out today supports the idea that the global growth slowdown is bottoming out," Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, said in a morning note.

The Chinese government tends to poll more large companies and state-owned enterprises, while the Caixin and IHS Markit survey focuses more on small and mid-sized firms.

The Chinese manufacturing rally comes after President Donald Trump said in October that the US had reached a "very substantial phase one deal" with China in their talks to end the two nations' trade war.

However, Chinese officials are insisting that a phase-one deal will require Trump to not only delay tariffs scheduled to take effect on December 15, but roll back existing tariffs, according to Global Times, a Chinese state newspaper.

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