China's Service Sector Growth Weakest In 5 Months

(RTTNews) - China's service sector grew at the slowest pace in five months in November despite a renewed rise in export business, survey data from S&P Global showed on Wednesday.

The headline RatingDog services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.1 in November from 52.6 in October.

The rate of growth was the softest in five months. However, a score above the neutral 50.0 mark suggested that the sector continued its expansion that began in January 2023.

New business growth remained strong in November amid reports of increased client enquiries and successful marketing efforts. Meanwhile, overseas demand grew after a mild fall in October.

Survey respondents said reduced trade uncertainty with the US had supported that latest growth in new export orders.

Business sentiment among service providers dipped in November to one of the lowest on record. They expect improvement in market conditions and expansion plans to spur growth in the year ahead.

Job shedding continued despite higher new orders. The decrease suggests the non-replacement of job leavers and redundancies amid cost concerns.

Input prices continued to increase in November and the rate remained among the highest recorded in just over a year. Service providers raised their output charges in November, albeit only fractionally.

The composite output index posted above the 50.0 no-change threshold at 51.2 in November, down from 51.8 in October. The survey showed that overall activity expanded for a sixth consecutive month.

That said, the rate of growth eased to a four-month low as manufacturing production stagnated and services activity expanded at a milder pace.