THE retail and transport sectors spurred China's service industry to grow for the fourth month in January, lifting the service PMI to climb to the highest in five months last month.
The non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index edged up 0.1 percentage point from December to 56.2 percent in January, the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a joint statement yesterday. A reading above 50 signals expansion.
"The figure suggested the stable situation of the service industry is further consolidated," said Cai Jin, vice chairman of CFLP.
The Shanghai Composite Index last week posted the best weekly gain since October 2011. Strength in services may assist a shift to a consumption-driven economy as the government targets more sustainable growth and factory output contributes to record pollution.
The service sector's business activity sub-index added 0.2 percentage point to 54.9 percent, and the sub-indices for the others, including retail, aviation and water transport, were all above 60 percent.
The retail business bolstered strongly the growth in the service PMI with sales galloping in the month ahead of the Lunar New Year which starts on Sunday.
"The pick up in the consumer service and retail sector suggested a strong potential for domestic consumption," Cai added.
January's service PMI raced to the highest level in five months on the back of the government's pledge to boost domestic consumption and cut reliance on exports.
China's weekly story (2013.01.27-01.31)
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