The Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) edged up 0.3 percentage points to 58.5 in July from the previous month. That’s the word from the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) on Friday.
The PMI index is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector. A reading of above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing activity, while a figure below 50 signals contraction.
Of the five sub-indicators, employment grew by 2.4 percentage points to 59.2, the second highest level in history. But corporations surveyed were less optimistic about the economic prospects over the next six months. That reading slipped from a record high of 68.5 in June to 65.5 this month.