Services sector expands with manufacturing

A waitress fans a cloth napkin at a hotel restaurant in Foshan, Guangdong province. CHINA DAILY

PMI rebounds to 15-month high in June alleviates concerns over growth slowdown, economists say

Activity in China's services sector expanded at its fastest pace in 15 months in June, said a private survey released on Thursday, further reinforcing signs of a steady recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

The HSBC/Markit services Purchasing Managers Index hit a 15-month high in June, rebounding to 53.1 from 50.7 in May, well above the 50-point level that separates expansion in activity from contraction.

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The official services PMI for June, also released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, dipped to 55 from 55.5 in May. Still, the number is well above 50 and is the second-highest number the year.

"The expansion in the services sector reinforces the recovery seen in the manufacturing sector and signals a broad-based improvement over the month," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC Plc.

"We think the economy is slowly turning around and expect the recovery to be supported by accommodative fiscal and monetary policies over the coming months," he said.

The PMI for the manufacturing sector, which was released a day earlier by HSBC/Markit, rose to 50.7 in June from 49.4 in May, surging past the 50-point level for the first time since December. It indicated that China's manufacturing recovery goes hand-in-hand with expansion in the services sector.

"What is noteworthy is the rebound in the services businesses related to manufacturing activities," Cai Jin, a vice-president at the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, said in a statement.

"New orders from commodity retailers showed a big rebound, indicating that the stabilizing growth momentum in the factory sector is filtering into the services industry," he said.