TAIPEI, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's manufacturing activity expanded in October, the first expansion after May, as indicated by the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) reading by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER).

File photo: VCG

The PMI for October stood at 51.1 percent, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month. A PMI reading above 50 suggests expansion while below 50 indicates a contraction.

Among the five sub-indexes, new orders, production and employment expanded, supplier deliveries became faster and inventory levels contracted, according to CIER.

Among the six major manufacturing industries, the basic raw materials, transportation, and electricity/machinery industries saw contractions in October while the food/textile, electronics/optoelectronics and chemicals/biotech industries saw expansions.

For the services sector, the non-manufacturing index rose by 2.9 percentage points from the previous month to 53.9 percent in October, according to CIER.