Mixed PMI Results for key Economies in January Lead to Global Manufacturing Surge

much of Euro economies and the slowdown predicted by economists to hound China this year.

By the end of January, China reported that its purchasing managers index moved up by less than a point, from the 50.3 seen in December to 50.5 points, adding up to fears that shipments from the world's second largest economy could be fading away.

A statement issued by China's Finance Ministry on Wednesday indicated that pressures are up and the country is gradually feeling the pinch of the deteriorating situation in Europe, which both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund said could trigger a global recession this year.

"As external demand is now fading clearly, Chinese exporters are facing increasing difficulties," Reuters reported the ministry statement as saying.

Another Asian key economy, India, posted PMI growth of 57.5 points in January, highlighting that country's near three years of consistent expansion that analyst said is a testament of the region's underlying economic strength.

But dents were recorded as well in the month as South Korea and Taiwan registered dwindling output in the period, with the latter retreating for the eighth consecutive months.

South Korea, on the other hand, troubled economists as the country reported its exports shrinking by 6.6 percent, a downward direction that was parallel to its manufacturing sector, both of which have faltered over the past six month.

In January alone, Seoul said that exports into the European Union dipped by 45 percent during the first 20 days of the month, underscoring the impact of the Euro financial crisis to Asian economies.

That ongoing crisis was somewhat softened by Germany's gain in the past month, its production finally jumping after months of disappointments, which took the cudgels for Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index in January.

The index surged from 46.9 in December to 48.8 in the month after, Reuters said, but not enough to shore up Europe out of contraction, which has been the case for the past six months.

It did not help that the British production level in January surpassed the contraction point, as the country's output rose from 49.6 to 52.1.

The best news so far came from the United States, with its national production index, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), soaring a by a full point from a revised 53.1 in December to 54.1 in January.

The upward movement, analysts said, was the best showing so far for the biggest economy in world that last year had to absorb a credit downgrade and deal with a problematic domestic economic environment.

The mixed results led JPMorgan to tick up its global manufacturing index in January to 51.2 from 50.5 in the previous month.