China's non-manufacturing business activity index rose slightly in August at 50.3 per cent, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, indicating a modest rebound in the sector. The construction industry witnessed a slight decline, with its business activity index falling by 0.6 percentage points to 50.6 per cent. Conversely, the service industry's index improved by 0.2 percentage points to 50.2 per cent. Some service sectors, such as railway transport, air transport, postal services, telecommunications, and entertainment, showed strong performance with business activity indexes above 55.0 per cent. However, capital market services, real estate, and resident services faced challenges with indexes below the critical point. The new order index rose to 46.3 per cent, suggesting improved demand in the non-manufacturing market. Both the construction and service industries experienced increases in new orders. Meanwhile, the input price index declined to 48.6 per cent, indicating that the overall level of input prices used by non-manufacturing enterprises has decreased. This decline was observed across both the construction and service industries. The employment index fell to 45.2 per cent, suggesting a decline in employment sentiment among non-manufacturing enterprises. The construction industry saw a slight improvement in employment sentiment, while the service industry's employment sentiment declined. The business activity expectation index stood at 55.3 per cent, although it was slightly down from the previous month. The construction industry's expectation index improved, while the service industry's index declined. Attribution: National Bureau of Statistics report Subediting: M. S. Salama
