The S&P Global PMI composite index for China was unchanged at 52.5 February, indicating that China's economy retained some momentum at the start of the year. The business activity index for China's services sector, also published today, fell slightly from 52.7 to 52.5, while the previously-published headline index for the manufacturing PMI survey rose from 50.8 in January to 50.9 in February. Official PMI survey data published last week showed further contraction in the manufacturing sector but somewhat stronger growth in the non-manufacturing sector in February.

Respondents to today's service sector survey reported weaker growth in output, steady growth in new orders, and stronger growth in new export orders in February. Payrolls were reported to have fallen after increasing in each of the two previous months while the survey's measure of confidence remained fell to a four-month low. Respondents also stronger weaker growth in input costs and a small increase in selling prices after they had been cut in January for the first time since April 2022.

Today's data were below the consensus forecast of 52.9 for the service sector survey's headline index. The China RPI and the RPI-P were unchanged at minus 43 and minus 60 respectively, indicating that recent Chinese data in sum are coming in below consensus forecasts.

S&P's services PMI in February is expected to edge higher to 52.9 versus January's 52.7 that would match December's 52.9.

The S&P China Services PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in over 400 private service sector companies. The panel has been carefully selected to accurately replicate the true structure of the services economy.

The S&P China Composite PMI is a weighted average of the Manufacturing Output Index and the Services Business Activity Index, and is based on original survey data collected from a representative panel of over 800 companies based in the Chinese manufacturing and service sectors.

The PMIs have developed an outstanding reputation for providing the most up-to-date possible indication of what is really happening in the private sector economy by tracking variables such as sales, employment, inventories and prices. The indexes are widely used by businesses, governments and economic analysts in financial institutions to help better understand business conditions and guide corporate and investment strategy. In particular, central banks in many countries use the data to help make interest rate decisions. PMI surveys are the first indicators of economic conditions published each month and are therefore available well ahead of comparable data produced by government bodies.