BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Sales by China's major excavator producers expanded faster in April, adding to evidence that economic activity remains strong.

The country's 25 leading excavator makers sold 26,561 digging machines in April, up 84.5 percent year on year, compared with a 78.9-percent increase in March, data from the China Construction Machinery Association showed Monday.

More than 25,000 machines were sold in the domestic market, up 83.2 percent year on year. Overseas sales more than doubled to over 1,500 machines.

A total of 86,622 excavators were sold in the January-April period, up 57.9 percent from a year earlier.

Sales of digging machines are an indicator of the vitality of an economy as demand is usually backed by growth in mining and infrastructure development.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index, a gauge of manufacturing sector activity, came in at 51.4 in April, down from 51.5 in March but higher than an average of 51 in the first quarter and still in the expansionary zone, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

From: Xinhua Net