China's Manufacturing Expands
China's economic growth looks set to accelerate into the new year, with booming factories driving a December manufacturing survey to a 20-month high, According to a Reuters report.
The survey released on Friday also showed the rapid pace of activity pushed up prices of inputs such as labor, raw materials and capital to a 17-month high in China, potentially complicating efforts of officials who want to maintain growth-friendly policies without driving inflation expectations.
The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 56.6 in December from 55.2 in the previous month, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said.
It was the 10th consecutive month of expansion and the biggest monthly rise since March, reflecting that Chinese manufacturers, far from plateauing after a recovery, have actually gathered momentum heading into 2010, Reuters reported.
