An industry group says that China's manufacturing growth picked up in March, according to The Associated Press.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Monday, April 1 its Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.9 in March from 50.1 in February, which was the lowest reading in five months. Numbers above 50 denote expansion on 100-point scale.

Chinese manufacturing is closely watched as an indicator of the strength of global consumer sales and potential demand for countries that supply China's factories with raw materials and industrial components.

The federation said in statement that higher manufacturing output was largely due to an increase in orders and weakening pressure on the price of inputs.