A private gauge of China’s service activities fell to its lowest level in eight months, signaling that the service sector’s growth may have lost steam.
The Caixin China services purchasing managers index slid to 51.8 in August from 54.1 in July, Caixin Media Co. and S&P Global said Tuesday.
However, the index remained above the 50 mark, which separates an expansion in activity from contraction, for the eighth consecutive month.
The subindexes for business activity and total new orders remained above 50 for the eighth consecutive months, but both readings were lower than July’s. The subindex for export orders fell into contraction for the first time since December, said Caixin.
Employment in the service sector continued to expand in August but growth slowed, Caixin said.
“Service providers remained optimistic, expressing confidence in the market outlook. But overall optimism was limited, as the August reading for their expectations about future activity recorded the lowest reading since November,” said Wang Zhe, an economist at Caixin Insight Group.
China’s official nonmanufacturing PMI, which includes both service and construction activity, dropped to 51.0 in August from 51.5 in July, official data showed last week.
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