HONG KONG Buoyed by a continuing recovery in global trade, Asian manufacturing improved in August, with eight of the 12 economies surveyed by the Nikkei showing a pickup and just four in contractionary territory. Economists, however, generally believe it will take time before gains in the industrial sector translate into a broad-based uptick in inflation.
The Nikkei ASEAN Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index -- which tracks activity in the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore -- rebounded to 50.4 in August from 49.3 in the previous month. A measure above 50 signals expansion, while anything below signals contraction.
