China’s manufacturing sector notched its fourth consecutive month of expansion in June, with the official Purchasing Managers’ Index climbing to 50.3 from May’s 50.0. The reading beat the Reuters forecast of 50.1 and kept the index comfortably above the 50 line that separates growth from contraction.
Exports are carrying the load
The new export orders sub-index bounced back to 50.1 in June after contracting in May.
May’s export data painted a clearer picture of what’s fueling the rebound. China’s exports surged 19.4% year-on-year to a record $376.78 billion, driven by insatiable global appetite for AI-related products.
Automated data processing equipment, a category that captures much of the AI hardware supply chain, rose 66.1% year-on-year.
