BEIJING: Chinese manufacturing expanded at its strongest pace in 18 months in October, the government said Friday, but analysts cautioned that underlying data suggested a strong economic rebound was unlikely.
The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) of activity in factories and workshops around the country climbed to 51.4 last month from 51.1 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on its website.
The reading was the highest since 53.3 in April 2012. Anything above 50 indicates expansion while a figure below signals contraction.
"China's official PMI rose to 51.4 in October, surprising slightly on the upside, suggesting that the economy is still in an expansion mode," ANZ bank economists Liu Li-Gang and Zhou Hao said in a report after the release.
Also Friday British bank HSBC said its PMI had hit a seven-month high of 50.9 in October, unchanged from a preliminary reading last week, but much higher than its September figure of 50.2.
The two sets of numbers add to several recent indicators suggesting the growth slowdown at the start of this year has come to an end.
Official data last month showed China's economy -- a key driver of regional and global growth -- expanded 7.8 percent in July-September, snapping two quarters of slowing.
"China is on track for a gradual growth recovery," HSBC chief economist for China Qu Hongbin said in the bank's release.
He also said stronger manufacturing growth momentum helped employment expand for the first time since March. "This in turn should support private consumption growth in the coming months."
However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists, warned against overoptimism regarding the "above consensus" official PMI figure, saying the scope for "further improvement in PMI is limited".
The gain in the index was mostly fuelled by output "reflecting higher pace of production on stabilised growth and inventory restocking".
They added that new orders, including for exports, slowed. "It suggests both domestic and external demand may have moderated somewhat after a nice rebound in previous months."
The news was welcomed cautiously by markets, with Shanghai stocks up 0.12 percent and Hong Kong flat.
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