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China’s service sector picks up in March

CHINA’S service activity in private firms improved in March as a latest sign of renewed expansion of Chinese business activities, a survey showed today.

The Caixin Business Activity Index, a gauge of operating conditions in private service companies, was 52.2 last month, up from February's 51.2 but still down from January’s six-month high of 52.4, according to the Caixin Magazine and research firm Markit.

This strengthening followed the higher reading for the manufacturing sector as shown by earlier data.

The Caixin China Purchasing Managers’ Index, which gauges operating conditions for private and export-oriented companies in the manufacturing sector, rebounded to 49.7 in March from a five-month low of 48 in February.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index, which reflects operational conditions in large state-owned manufacturing companies, rose 1.2 points month-on-month to 50.2 in March,. It entered the expansion zone for the first time in eight months.

The official non-manufacturing PMI rose by 1 point month-on-month to 53.8.

However, the rebound remained modest with employment shrank for the first time since August 2013 due to fewer-than expected new orders, the report showed. Confidence towards the 12-month business outlook also slipped slightly in March to the lowest level this year.

“Overall the services sector developed well, but the economy is riding choppy waves, indicating the lack of a solid foundation for recovery” said He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group. "The government needs to push forward with supply-end reform to encourage the development of emerging industries."

China’s economy grew 6.9 percent last year, the slowest annual expansion in a quarter of a century.

Earlier this week the Asian Development Bank revised down its forecast for China's 2016 economic growth to 6.5 percent due to weak external demand and slowing investment.




 

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