Tech demand has Asian factories humming
Strong demand for tech goods is helping Asian factories to get busy.
New figures out Monday (March 1) showed manufacturing activity in Japan rose at its fastest pace in two years.
In South Korea exports rose for a fourth straight month in February.
Memory chips and cars were among goods driving the 9.5% gain there.
Factories also got busier in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The numbers suggest makers are benefiting from robust global trade.
Hopes have been lifted by worldwide rollouts of vaccine programs.
But there could be a warning light flickering in China.
The closely watched Caixin/Markit Purchasing Mangers' Index for manufacturers dropped to 50.9 in February.
That's the lowest level since May, though still well above the 50-point mark that indicates expanding activity.
Output there was hit by new domestic flare-ups of the health crisis, and softer demand from some export markets.
Some economists think the dip will be short-lived though.
One at HSBC told Reuters that recovering domestic demand will likely help China's factories.
Analysts say companies in countries emerging from lockdown will also lift demand as they start stocking up again.
