China's major ports see rising throughput amid economic reboot

Container throughput at China's major ports continued to rise last week, adding to evidence that economic activity was recovering after being chilled by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

During the week from March 23 to 29, container throughput at eight key ports rose 3.4 percent from the previous week, with that at Dalian and Guangzhou ports recording more than 25 percent growth, data from the China Ports and Harbours Association (CPHA) showed Wednesday.

This came a day after official data showed the country's manufacturing sector rebounded in March, signaling a stabilization in the economy as supportive policies took hold.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index rebounded to 52 in March from 35.7 in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

As of March 28, 98.6 percent of the country's major industrial firms had resumed production, CPHA said, citing data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Last week, crude oil throughput at China's major ports climbed 3.5 percent from the previous week, amid rising demand for refined oil and growing crude oil purchases by refineries and traders in view of tumbling global oil prices, the association said.

Coal throughput at Qinhuangdao and Shenhua Huanghua ports, two major hubs for coal shipment, rose 3.9 percent from the previous week, thanks to rising downstream demand, while that of iron ore grew 6.3 percent, CPHA said.