The Financial Times reports activity in China’s manufacturing sector crept up in June as output and new orders rose, according to an official gauge. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index publish by the National Bureau of Statistics came in at 51.7 for June, up from May’s level of 51.2 and remaining above the 50-point level separating expansion from contraction. A median forecast from economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a fall to 51. The official gauge tracks larger and primarily state-owned enterprises. A sub-index for output came in at 54.4, compared to May’s figure of 53.4 with the new orders sub-index rising to 53.1 from 52.3 in the previous month. The sub-index for employment dipped to 49.0 from 49.4. The official non-manufacturing PMI for June edged up to 54.9, from 54.5 in May. A sub-index for new orders rose half a point from its May level to 51.4.