The S&P Global PMI composite index for China rose to a five-month high of 52.3 in November from 51.9 in October, indicating that the Chinese economy has gained some momentum after officials delivered policy measures aimed at boosting growth in the last two months. The business activity index for China's services sector, however, fell to 51.5 from 52.0, whereas the headline index for the manufacturing PMI survey, published earlier in the week, indicated somewhat stronger expansion in the sector. Official PMI survey data, meanwhile, showed steady and subdued conditions in both the manufacturing and the non-manufacturing sector in November.

Respondents to today's service sector survey reported weaker growth in output, new orders, and new export orders in November. The survey showed a third consecutive increase in payrolls while its measure of confidence rose to its highest level since April. Respondents also reported slower growth in input costs third decline in selling prices in the last four months.

Today's data were weaker than the consensus forecast of 52.4 for the service sector survey's headline index. The China RPI fell from minus 29 to minus 36 while the RPI-P fell from minus 20 to minus 33, indicating that recent Chinese data in sum are now coming in well below consensus forecasts.

China's services sector activity measured by the S&P Global's purchasing managers index is forecast to show a further improvement to 52.4 in November after surging to 52.0 in October from 50.3 in September.

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.