CHINA's economy is showing fresh signs of strength, from increased business confidence to an expansionary factory gauge reading.
China exports' show strength as Standard Chartered index rises CHINA's economy is showing fresh signs of strength, from increased business confidence to an expansionary factory gauge reading, reports Bloomberg. Standard Chartered's Small and Medium Enterprises Confidence Index rose to 56 this month from 54.9 in August. According to the earliest private indicators for September, most private gauges showed improvement and a proxy for factory activity jumped to the strongest level in almost two years. This suggests better readings from August data. Also a steady flow of credit has boosted property sales, helping offset sluggish exports and continued weakness in private investment. Sales and production recovered from weather-related disruptions, even as the investment appetite remained muted, wrote Shen Lan, a Beijing-based China economist in a report. The China Satellite Manufacturing Index jumped to 50.2 in the first weeks of September, according to San Francisco-based SpaceKnow, which uses algorithms and commercial satellite imagery to analyse thousands of industrial facilities. That's the first reading above 50 since November 2014. Like the official manufacturing purchasing managers index, readings above 50 indicate expansion. The official PMI probably held steady this month at 50.4, according to economist estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That would match the September reading, which was the highest in almost two years. The report is due for release October 1.