BEIJING, May 1 (Reuters) - China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for April rose to 53.5 from 52.4 in March, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said on Friday.
It was the fifth month in a row that the official PMI has improved. The reading compared with a record low of 38.8 plumbed in November.
A reading over 50 indicates an expansion of activity in the manufacturing sector while one below 50 suggests contraction.
Following is a breakdown of the purchasing managers' index:
Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Overall PMI 53.5 52.4 49.0 45.3 41.2 38.8 44.6 Output 57.4 56.9 51.2 45.5 39.4 35.5 44.3 New orders 56.6 54.6 50.4 45.0 37.3 32.3 41.7 New export orders 49.1 47.5 43.4 33.7 30.7 29.0 41.4 Backlogs of orders 48.9 48.8 44.2 39.2 35.8 36.0 40.7 Stocks of finished goods 44.8 46.7 47.7 43.5 44.7 50.8 51.4 Quantity of purchases 56.2 54.0 49.5 44.3 36.2 34.2 42.4 Imports 50.0 48.8 41.8 39.9 33.3 32.2 39.4 Input prices 51.3 48.3 46.5 41.5 32.7 26.6 32.3 Stocks of purchases 46.9 47.5 45.6 43.9 40.6 39.5 42.6 Employment 50.3 48.6 46.1 43.0 43.3 44.3 47.0 Suppliers' delivery times 50.6 51.3 51.3 50.6 50.4 50.7 50.8 (Reporting by Langi Chiang and Alan Wheatley; Editing by Jan Dahinten)