China’s services activity accelerates, but external demand slows: Caixin PMI

Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 52.1 from 51.2 in June, pointing to expansion for the 19th straight month

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Customers at a shoe store in Guangzhou. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 9:58am, 5 Aug 2024Updated: 4:23pm, 5 Aug 2024

Growth in China’s services activity accelerated in July helped by new orders, although momentum in overseas demand eased to its slowest pace in 11 months, a private-sector survey showed on Monday.

The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 52.1 from 51.2 in June, pointing to expansion for the 19th straight month.

The Caixin/S&P Global index covers mostly private and export-oriented companies and the 50-mark separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis.

The sector expanded at its fastest pace since May, beating a median forecast of 51.5 in a Bloomberg survey of economists, pointing to resilience that may alleviate concerns over the economy’s outlook after weak official figures.

Last week, the official services PMI showed the sector stalled in July from growth in June, with retail sales, capital market services and real estate service industries all shrinking.

The Caixin/S&P survey showed that the new orders subindex rose to 53.3 in July from 52.1 in June, while the gauge of overseas demand showed the smallest expansion since August 2023.