Bloomberg China Manufacturing Expands, Adding to Recovery Signs

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- China’s manufacturing expanded for a second month as government stimulus spending stoked a fledgling recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy.

The Purchasing Manager’s Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing in an e-mailed statement. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.

Stronger Chinese demand is helping exporting nations across Asia, where South Korea reported today a 9 percent gain in shipments in April from the previous month. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the Chinese economy will grow 8.3 percent this year even as countries from the U.S. to Japan are mired in recessions.

“The worst is already behind China,” said Sun Mingchun, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. “Domestic strength should outweigh the tougher external environment.”

In the manufacturing data, the output index rose to 57.4 from 56.9 in March, the new order index climbed to 56.6 from 54.6, and the export order index increased to 49.1 from 47.5.

The Chinese and South Korean numbers show “global demand is no longer in freefall,” said David Cohen, an economist with Action Economics in Singapore. “Maybe the global downturn is bottoming out -- maybe the first quarter will prove to have been the worst.” more...