Service sector activity in China grew at the fastest pace in three months in October, in a possible indication that Beijing’s economic stimulus measures are helping to improve business conditions.
The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which was cited by Reuters, grew to 52 in October from 50.3 the previous month. A figure above 50 indicates expansion.
The figure supports an official PMI released last week, which appeared to indicate a recovery in domestic demand.
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Meanwhile, Reuters reports that China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since early 2023 in the third quarter, held back by the country’s ailing property sector.
The central government has vowed to make the “necessary spending” to boost the nation’s economic growth and launched an array of stimulus measures to meet an economic growth target of about 5 percent
Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, told Reuters that “Achieving China’s 2024 growth target will depend on a sustained recovery in consumer demand. That means policy efforts should focus on increasing household disposable income.”
