China's non-manufacturing PMI dips, services activity remains stable

BEIJING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's non-manufacturing activity moderated in October, while the services sector remained broadly stable, with holiday-related consumption and certain service industries showing relatively strong growth, official data showed Saturday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector came in at 49.7 in October, down 0.5 points from September, partly due to weaker activity in some service industries, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 signifies contraction.

The business activity index for the services sector stood at 50.0, down 0.2 points from the previous month, indicating broadly stable activity.

By industry, business activity picked up in most major service categories. Railway transportation, accommodation, and culture, sports and entertainment services saw notable improvements, with their respective indexes rising into expansionary territory, supported by travel and consumer spending during the National Day holiday.

Meanwhile, business activity indexes for water transportation, postal services, and internet, software and information technology services all remained above 55.0, indicating relatively rapid growth in business activity.

The financial sector was the only major service category to register a decline in its business activity index, with a relatively sharp drop contributing to the overall moderation in services activity.

Business expectations remained positive, with the services sector's business activity expectations index standing at 55.2, suggesting that most surveyed enterprises remained confident about market prospects.

In the construction sector, the business activity index fell 2.3 points from September to 48.0, indicating a slowdown in construction activity.

The sector's business activity expectations index stood at 52.3, down 3.1 points from the previous month.

Saturday's data came as China's service sector has maintained strong growth momentum this year, underpinned by supportive policy expectations, growing market confidence, resilient consumption and opening up.

In the first half of the year, the service sector contributed 66.1 percent to the country's economic growth, up 5.9 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.