China steel industry PMI jumps above 50pc

BEIJING, China May 12 (steelguru.com): According to data released by China Steel Logistics Professional Committee of CFLP, the purchasing manager's index of Chinese steel sector rose 8.4 percentage points from a month earlier to 52.6 percent in April, the first reading above 50 percent since September last year.

Both new orders and new export orders subindices reached above the 50% level and purchasing price index saw a big rebound from low level, showing signs of a recovery in China's steel market which remained in recession for a long period of time.

Data also showed that the steel industry production index expanded to 53.0 percent last month after remaining below 50% for six months in a row, up 13.3 percentage points from March and both purchasing volume and raw material inventory subindices saw a pick up in April.