The mainland’s services sector grew marginally faster in November as new orders rose at their quickest pace in two and a half years, a private survey showed, an encouraging sign of strength that contrasts sharply with the gloom in the other parts of the economy.
The HSBC/Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) inched up to 53.0 last month from October’s 52.9, above the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction in activity.
New orders were especially buoyant. The new business sub-index climbed to 54.2 in November from 53.1 the previous month, a high not seen since May 2012.
The resilience in the services sector compares with cooling growth in mainland factories. A pair of manufacturing PMIs released earlier this week showed that growth in factories in November slid to lows unseen in at least six months.
The dour factory reports were the latest in a run of underwhelming data from the world’s second-largest economy, and reinforced bets that authorities could further loosen fiscal and monetary policy in coming months to stoke growth.
Downside pressures on the economy still persist
“Downside pressures on the economy still persist,” said Qu Hongbin, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong. Qu said he expected further policy easing in coming weeks.