The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month gained 2.6 points to 58.8, as demand picked up for most sectors, despite a possible downward pull due to the Lunar New Year holiday, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.
A spike in new orders for electronics, optical devices and machinery allowed the new business subindex to overcome unfavorable seasonality with a six-point increase to 58.6, the Taipei-based think tank said.
“The latest survey showed that operating conditions remained healthy and should remain bright,” CIER president Chang Chuang-chang (張傳章) said.
Economic gauges in countries where the Lunar New Year