(Yicai Global) Nov. 30 -- China’s manufacturing activity moved back into expansion territory, or above the benchmark of 50, this month as the surge in raw material prices slowed helping to prop up demand, according to the latest statistics.

The purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing, a gauge of factory activity, nudged up 0.9 percentage point in November from the previous month to 50.1, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion and one below shows contraction.

Recently introduced policies have enhanced energy supply and stabilized market prices leading to an uptick in both supply and demand, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Of the manufacturing PMI sub-indices, the new order sub-index advanced 0.6 percentage point to 49.4 as demand grew, while the production sub-index gained 3.6 percentage points to 52 as factory output increased. The purchase price sub-index of main raw materials plunged significantly by 19.2 percentage points from October to 52.9, while the factory gate price sub-index dropped 12.2 percentage points to 48.9.

Service activity remained in positive territory but the pace of growth slowed. The non-manufacturing PMI, which assesses the service sector, dipped 0.1 percentage point from October to 52.3. The business activity sub-index dropped 0.5 percentage point to 51.1 while the new order sub-index jumped 1.9 percentage point to 54.2. Increased investment in infrastructure pushed up the construction industry’s business activity sub-index by 2.2 percentage points to 59.1.

The composite PMI index, an indicator of economic activity in both the country’s manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, gained 1.4 percentage points to 52.2, indicating that the overall production and business activities of Chinese enterprises grew faster than in October.

Editor: Kim Taylor