China’s manufacturing engine bounced back strongly in March, recovering from a miserable January and February, when the country was effectively shut down due to coronavirus. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a survey of sentiment among factory owners in the world’s second largest economy – was 52 in March, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. This was up from an all-time low of 35.7 over the first two months of the year. A reading of 50 shows growth in the manufacturing economy, while the further below 50, the deeper the contraction. March’s reading ... (full story)