Economic Buzz: China Services Sector Growth Softens In August

5 Sep 2022 , 01:11 PM

Chinese services companies signaled a further marked increase in business activity in August as the sector continued to recover from the recent wave of COVID-19. The upturn was supported by a solid rise in overall sales, as companies reported higher customer numbers as market conditions continued to normalize. International demand remained subdued, however, with foreign sales falling again in August. Prices data showed that input costs rose at the quickest rate in four months, but charges set by services companies rose only slightly. The seasonally adjusted headline Business Activity Index edged down from 55.5 in July to 55.0 in August, to signal a slightly softer, but still steep, increase in service sector activity. Chinese service providers remained upbeat that activity levels would rise over the next year. Furthermore, the degree of positive sentiment edged up to its highest since November 2021. The seasonally adjusted Composite Output Index fell for the second month in a row in August, slipping from 54.0 in July to 53.0. The reading pointed to a solid increase in total Chinese output, albeit one that was the softest for three months. Underlying data showed that services (index at 55.0) continued to outperform manufacturing (50.5), though in both cases rates of expansion softened since July. Powered by Commodity Insights