The S&P Global PMI composite index for China fell to 51.8 in October from 52.5 in September, indicating conditions in the aggregate economy improved for the fifth consecutive month. The business activity index for China's services sector, also published today, eased to 52.6 in October from 52.9 in September, while the headline index for the manufacturing PMI survey, published earlier in the week, showed more subdued expansion in the sector. Official PMI survey data, published last week, showed further contraction in the manufacturing sector and stagnation in the non-manufacturing sector in October.

Respondents to today's service sector survey reported solid growth in output and new orders in October but renewed contraction in new export orders after three consecutive increases. Payrolls were also reported to have been cut for the third consecutive month while the survey's measure of confidence fell from a recent multi-month high. Respondents also reported a bigger increase in input costs but a small cut in selling prices.

The China RPI and the RPI-P rose from minus 16 and minus 11 respectively to plus 5, indicating that recent Chinese data in sum are coming in close to consensus forecasts.

Services PMI expected down marginally at 52.5 versus 52.9 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.