China may see a modest economic rebound as a leading index covering its economy rose at a faster pace in August, with the gain being the biggest in seven months.
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for China, which covers credit growth, supply of raw materials, manufacturing activities, consumer confidence, export orders and employment trends, rose 1.7 percent in August to 240.4. It gained 0.6 percent in July and 0.1 percent in June.
The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, said China's rise in August was the biggest in seven months.
"The improvement in the index raises expectations for a moderate rebound in China's growth, even as current economic conditions remain subdued," said Andrew Polk, a Conference Board economist.
Polk said the higher index reading was attributed to improving conditions in real estate, credit growth and consumer expectations.
The HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers' Index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial activities, rose to 47.8 in September from August's final reading of 47.6, a two-month high that signaled the economy was stabilizing.
China's economy grew 7.6 percent annually in the second quarter, the smallest gain in three years and the sixth quarterly deceleration. The surprisingly long downturn has caused some banks to lower projections for economic growth this year.
Last week Morgan Stanley trimmed its forecast for China's economic growth this year to 7.5 percent from 8 percent previously, and Barclays cut its projection to 7.5 percent from 7.9 percent formerly.
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