China's economic activity grew in January

China’s economic activity returned to growth in January as COVID-19 measures were eased. The official manufacturing PMI prepared by the National Bureau of Statistics rose to 50.1 points in January, from 47.0 in December. Economists had expected the manufacturing PMI to remain at 48 points, indicating contraction. The non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activity in the services sector, showed much stronger growth in January than the manufacturing sector. With the reopening of the economy, the non-manufacturing PMI rose to 54.4 points from 41.6 in December. The manufacturing PMI and non-manufacturing PMI had remained below the break-even level of 50 points since September, indicating a contraction in economic activity.