China's Non-manufacturing Sector Shrinks in April

BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China's non-manufacturing sector contracted in April, according to official figures issued on Friday.

The purchasing managers index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 54.5 percent in April, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said.

A PMI reading above 50 percent indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 percent indicates contraction.

The non-manufacturing PMI dropped in April from March, but still came in above the demarcation line, indicating stable growth for non-manufacturing economic activity, said Cai Jin, vice chairman of CFLP.

The sub-index for service business activity stood at 52.5 percent in April, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous month. Within the same category, the index for construction shrank 0.1 percentage points from the previous month to 62.4 percent.

The sub-index for new orders lost 1.1 percentage points from a month earlier to 50.9 percent. In that category, the index for new orders in the service sector fell 1.6 percentage points to 49.8 percent.

The sub-index for intermediate input prices lost 4.2 percentage points month on month to reach 51.1 percent. This indicates that non-manufacturing enterprises are optimistic about their business for the coming three months, the NBS statement said.

The sub-index for prices stood at 47.6 percent in April, down 2.4 percentage points from the previous month. In the category, the index for the service sector declined 3.2 percentage points month on month to 46.7 percent.

But the sub-index for business outlook climbed 0.1 percentage points month on month to 62.5 percent.

The figures followed Wednesday's release of the manufacturing sector's PMI, which dropped to 50.6 percent in April from 50.9 percent in March.

The non-manufacturing PMI is based on a survey of about 1,200 companies in 27 industries, including transportation, real estate, catering and software development.