China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing sector activity, rose to 54.7 in October, its fastest pace of expansion in six months, Bloomberg reported. The PMI, published by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics, was 53.8 in September. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity. Isaac Meng, a Beijing-based economist at BNP Paribas (BNP.Euronext), said before the PMI was published that he expected manufacturing growth to moderate in the coming months due to rising commodity prices and government moves to raise interest rates and restrict property purchases. There are already signs of a slowdown in the steel industry, with output falling in September as mills responded to power usage limits by cutting production. Ren Xianfang, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Beijing, said overall economic growth would decelerate in coming quarters, although this would be "a smooth descent, rather than a falling-off-a-cliff experience."
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