China PMI rises from 51.1 in September to 51.4 percent in October BEIJING, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- China's PMI, a gauge of the country's manufacturing activity, rose to 51.4 percent in October from 51.1 in September, official data showed Friday. The National Bureau of Statistics said the October increase in the purchasing managers' index was the fourth straight monthly increase. Any number over 50 on the PMI index denotes expansion while any number below that denotes contraction. The October results were attributed to expanding production and confidence arising from government policies to stabilize growth and restructure the economy. However, there was a cautionary note from the bureau's chief statistician. "Although the manufacturing PMI rose for a fourth month, forces that drove up the index were not balanced, as sub-indices other than production were relatively weak," Zhao Qinghe told the official Xinhua News Agency. With increased production, companies bought more raw materials, driving the sub-index for materials buying up 0.2 percentage points to 52.7, the bureau said. The sub-index for employment and raw material inventories both rose slightly, but both were still below 50 percent. The bureau also said the sub-index for new orders dropped 0.3 points to 52.5 percent and business outlook was down by 0.9 points from a month earlier to 57.5 percent in October. China's gross domestic product (GDP) rose to 7.8 percent in the third quarter, up from 7.5 percent in the second quarter. The National Bureau of Statistics reported growth in the first nine months stood at 7.7 percent, or above the government's full-year target of 7.5 percent. China's GDP totaled 38.68 trillion yuan ($6.3 trillion) in the first nine months.