BEIJING Oct 8 (Reuters) – Service sector activity in China grew again in September, as the major COVID-19 outbreak in eastern Jiangsu province subsided, a private sector survey showed on Friday, offering some support for a slowing economy.
The Caixin / Markit Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 53.4 points from 46.7 in August, away from the lowest level seen since the height of the pandemic last year. . The 50 point mark separates growth from contraction.
The better results of the survey, which focuses more on small businesses in coastal regions, are in line with those of an official survey conducted last week, which also showed that the Chinese service sector grew again.
Analysts say the services sector, which took longer to recover from the pandemic than the manufacturing sector, is more vulnerable to sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country, darkening prospects for the long-awaited recovery in consumption. in the next few months.
“In light of this, in the coming months, the government should focus on improving the prevention and control of the epidemic and alleviating supply pressure,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.
“It should also strike a balance between multiple objectives, such as promoting employment, keeping raw material prices stable, ensuring a stable and orderly supply, and meeting energy consumption control targets.”
The sub-indices of new business, invoiced prices and employment grew again in September, although new export business contracted again, reaching the lowest level in seven months due to the growing pandemic abroad.
Input prices rose for the 15th consecutive month in September and did so at a faster pace, driven by rising labor, freight and raw material costs, according to the survey, an aspect that led to the factory activity to contraction last month.
Caixin’s September composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, rose to 51.4 points in September from 47.2 the previous month, driven by the strength of the services sector.
(Reported by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes; Translated by Flora Gómez in the Gdansk newsroom)