Workers at a workshop of a medicine factory in Dingzhou City, north China's Hebei Province, Dec. 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)

BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector inched up in March, lifted by robust manufacturing activities in China and the United States, an official report said.

The reading came in at 51.7 in March, up 0.2 points from February, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing.

Asia's manufacturing PMI reversed a six-month downward trend to stand at 50.5, with the data for China rising 1.3 points to 50.5 in March, mainly due to growing orders and production.

Meanwhile, the PMI index for America picked up 0.6 points to 54.5, boosted by the continued rally of U.S. manufacturing activities.

Australia and Africa both saw their manufacturing activity expanding at a slower pace, standing at 51 and 50.7, respectively.

However, the PMI reading for Europe suffered a four-month losing streak and fell below the 50-point boom-bust line to 49.9, extending intensified downward pressure.

The global economy will be unlikely to see a rapid decline, partly as major economies are slowing down their pace of raising interest rates, the report said. Enditem