Services sector pace picks up in March
By Wang Yanlin |
April 4, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ACTIVITY in China's services sector picked up in March with the Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which is weighted toward state-owned enterprises, edging up 1.1 points to 55.6.
The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said construction grew to 62.5, up from February's 58, while postal and information transfer services also stayed over 60. New orders were up 0.2 points to 52, while prices lost 1.1 points to 50, and business expectation fell 0.3 points to 62.4.
A reading above 50 is expansion, and the index has been above that level for the past year.
A separate index compiled by HSBC showed that business in private and export-oriented services firms consolidated to a six-month high.
The HSBC Business Activity Index posted 54.3 in March, compared with February's 52.1 and January's 54.
Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said the acceleration relied on strong new business growth and suggested a broad-based gradual recovery.
"Notably, the ongoing recovery has translated into a continuous improvement of labor market conditions, which are supportive of consumer spending growth in the coming quarters," Qu said.
He said inflation was still not a major problem and the country should continue rolling out accommodative policies to support growth.
China has been cautious with its expansionary policy stance since the Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, reached a 10-month high of 3.2 percent in February.
The HSBC survey showed firms in the services sector confident about the next 12 months, expecting activity to increase. The degree of optimism strengthened to a 10-month high, fueled by increased orders and improving market conditions.
China will release the key economic data for March and the first quarter from next Tuesday.
Some analysts forecast that growth may accelerate to over 8 percent in the first quarter, up from 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
The Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures performance in the manufacturing sector, rebounded to an 11-month high of 50.9 in March, but analysts said improvement was weaker than expected.
The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said construction grew to 62.5, up from February's 58, while postal and information transfer services also stayed over 60. New orders were up 0.2 points to 52, while prices lost 1.1 points to 50, and business expectation fell 0.3 points to 62.4.
A reading above 50 is expansion, and the index has been above that level for the past year.
A separate index compiled by HSBC showed that business in private and export-oriented services firms consolidated to a six-month high.
The HSBC Business Activity Index posted 54.3 in March, compared with February's 52.1 and January's 54.
Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said the acceleration relied on strong new business growth and suggested a broad-based gradual recovery.
"Notably, the ongoing recovery has translated into a continuous improvement of labor market conditions, which are supportive of consumer spending growth in the coming quarters," Qu said.
He said inflation was still not a major problem and the country should continue rolling out accommodative policies to support growth.
China has been cautious with its expansionary policy stance since the Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, reached a 10-month high of 3.2 percent in February.
The HSBC survey showed firms in the services sector confident about the next 12 months, expecting activity to increase. The degree of optimism strengthened to a 10-month high, fueled by increased orders and improving market conditions.
China will release the key economic data for March and the first quarter from next Tuesday.
Some analysts forecast that growth may accelerate to over 8 percent in the first quarter, up from 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
The Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures performance in the manufacturing sector, rebounded to an 11-month high of 50.9 in March, but analysts said improvement was weaker than expected.
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