China's PMI rises to 50.5 pct in Jan.

China's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a preliminary readout of the country's manufacturing activity, rose to 50.5 percent in January of 2012, the highest level since October, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Wednesday.

The country's PMI stood at 50.3 percent in December, 49 percent in November and 50.4 percent in October, the CFLP said in a statement on its website.

A PMI reading of 50 percent demarcates expansion from contraction.