China's Caixin services PMI: August signals further modest increase in activity

Caixin China General Services PMI came at 52.1 vs 51.9 and 51.7 last. Meanwhile,  the Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index rose from 51.7 to 52.1 in August.

Summary

The latest set of Caixin China Composite PMI™ data (which covers both manufacturing and services) pointed to a further rise in Chinese business activity during August, with the rate of expansion little changed from that seen in July. This was shown by the Composite Output Index falling only fractionally from July’s 22-month high of 51.9 to 51.8 in August.

Commenting on the China General Services PMI™ data, Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group said: “The headline Caixin China General Services PMI for August came in at 52.1, up 0.4 points from the previous month. The indexes for employment and business expectations improved markedly over July’s readings, while the others did not change much."

"The Caixin China Composite Output Index for August was 51.8, down 0.1 points from the reading for July, but remained steady at a relatively high level. Overall, the economy continued to expand in August at a pace similar to the growth rate for July, but conditions in manufacturing and service sectors diverged again. Downward pressure on China’s economy remains and supportive policies must continue" Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong added.