China’s services PMI is out and continues its expansion but a slower pace, reinforcing November data which is pointing to a muted bounce:
Business activity increased in China’s service sector during November. Behind the growth of activity, new orders also continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace than in October. The level of outstanding business at service providers meanwhile fell at the fastest pace since February 2009. Data suggested that a further expansion of workforce numbers in the sector contributed to the fall in work-in-hand.
On the price front, input prices continued to rise at a marked pace, while output charges fell only slightly.
After adjusting for seasonal factors, the Business Activity Index posted 52.1 in November, signalling a marked rate of expansion in service sector activity. However, down from 53.5, the rate of growth had slowed since October. A number of survey respondents linked the rise in activity to a growing number of new projects.
New orders placed at service sector firms increased during November. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the rise reflected increased market demand. However, the rate of growth slowed from October to a modest pace, with fewer than 12% of panellists reporting a higher level of new business in the latest survey.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
