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China’s services activity accelerates at quickest pace in 10 months in May, drives up employment, Caixin PMI shows
- Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 54 in May from 52.5 in April, expanding for the 17th straight month
- Together with the Caixin manufacturing PMI, which hit a near two-year high, the readings suggested business activity expanded robustly last month
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China’s services activity in May accelerated at the quickest pace in 10 months, while staffing levels expanded for the first time since January, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday, pointing to sustained recovery in the second quarter.
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The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 54 from 52.5 in April, expanding for the 17th straight month and growing at the fastest pace since July 2023. The 50-mark separates expansion from contraction.
Together with the Caixin manufacturing PMI, which hit a near two-year high, the readings suggested business activity expanded robustly last month, although more indicators including exports, bank lending and retail sales due to be released would give more clues on the growth momentum.
The Caixin/S&P’s composite PMI, which tracks both the services and manufacturing sectors, rose to 54.1 last month from 52.8 in April, the highest in a year.
Faster new business inflows underpinned services activity growth. New business increased at the quickest pace since May 2023, as did new export business.
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Additional staff were hired last month to cope with ongoing workload according to respondents, pushing up staffing levels to their highest since September.
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