The S&P Global PMI composite index for China rose to 52.5 in September from 51.9 in August, indicating conditions in the aggregate economy improved for the fourth consecutive month and at the fastest pace since June 2024. The business activity index for China's services sector, also published today, eased to 52.9 in September from 53.0 in August, while the headline index for the manufacturing PMI survey showed stronger expansion in the sector. Official PMI survey data, also published today, showed further contraction in the manufacturing sector and modest stagnation in the non-manufacturing sector in September.

Respondents to today's service sector survey reported solid growth in output and new orders in September and a third consecutive increase in new export orders after two consecutive declines. Payrolls, however, were reported to have been cut for the second consecutive month but the survey's measure of confidence increased to a new multi-month high, perhaps indicating optimism that global trade tensions will ease. Respondents also reported a bigger increase in input costs and an increase in selling prices after they had been reduced previously.

The China RPI and the RPI-P rose from minus 14 to minus 7 and from minus 30 to minus 20 respectively, indicating that recent Chinese data in sum are still coming in below consensus forecasts.

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.