By MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A key measure of Chinese manufacturing reached a 20-month high in December, according to media reports Friday.
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 56.6 in December from 55.2 in the previous month, Reuters reported, citing China's Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
It was the 10th straight month that the index has stood above of 50, indicating an expansion of activity, according to the report, and represents the biggest month-on-month rise since March.
The dominant theme of the PMI, was the broadening strength of China's recovery, according to the report, which noted 17 of 20 industries surveyed reported an expansion in activity, with metal products the strongest and tobacco at the low end.
At the height of the global financial crisis, China's central planners worried the country would be unable to reach the 8% growth deemed necessary to maintain employment and avert social instability, Reuters reported. The country's 4 trillion yuan stimulus package, complemented by a record surge in bank lending, propelled the economy to 8.9% year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2009 and put it on track for even faster expansion in 2010, Reuters said.
