DIFFERENT DATA: Only the manufacturing output sub-index moved lower last month, the institute said, contradicting a Nikkei PMI report last Monday suggesting worsening

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 11, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Manufacturing activity last month improved slightly, but remained in contraction mode for the fourth consecutive month, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said.

Amid eased concerns over trade tensions between the US and China, the local manufacturing sector appeared relieved, and pushed up its business activity last month, the institute said on Friday.

CIER’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) staged a mild rebound, up 0.4 from a month earlier to 48.3, it said.

The PMI is an indicator of manufacturing performance derived from output, new orders, employment, suppliers’ deliveries and inventories. A number higher than 50 indicates expansion and scores below the threshold suggest a decline.    [FULL  STORY]