Economy strengthens with PMI at highest in 8 months

The private sector was fed by new orders which rose to an impressive 58.7 and headline PMI which jumped to 55.0.

HSBC said, the headline PMI hit an 8-month high while the new orders rose for the 18th month.

New business orders from China still recorded strong growth of 53.7, even if it wasn't as hardy as a month earlier when it printed 56.0. We've noted before that business activity in Hong Kong tends to receive support from both Mainland manufacturing and service sectors. In December, it appears that manufacturing again extended a sturdier helping hand.

The strength of new orders received by businesses sent both output and operating capacity in Hong Kong up by a substantial margin. Output shot up to an incredible 58.9 versus 58.3 previously, as backlogs of work accumulated at an even quicker pace of 56.4 versus 54.9 previously.