The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing sector stood at 53.2 percent in June, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said on Wednesday.

The figure was up 0.1 percentage points from May, when the index fell 0.4 percentage points from the previous month.

A reading of above 50 suggests expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction.

The PMI includes a package of indices that measure economic performance. The survey, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, covers purchasing and supply managers at more than 700 firms across China.

The output index was 57.1 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from a month ago. The new order index fell to 55.5 percent from 56.2 percent in May and 56.6 percent in April.

The purchasing price index climbed 4.7 percentage points to 57.8 percent, the seventh monthly increase since December.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2009)