China’s manufacturing sector gathered pace in July, expanding at the fastest rate since September 2014.. Beijing’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) improved to 50.4 in August on a scale where 50 separates economic expansion from contraction. The headline PMI indicator was at 49.9 in July. Economists forecast a similar reading for August. The government’s manufacturing indicator tracks the performance of large and state-owned companies, contrasting with another PMI report from Caixin that follows small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Manufacturing PMI has hovered around the break-even ... (full story)