China's non-manufacturing sector growth slows in August

China's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) showed a decline as China's non-manufacturing sector growth slowed in August, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said today.

The non-manufacturing sector's PMI, a key economic indicator, fell to 57.6 per cent in August from 59.6 per cent in July, CFLP said.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion from the previous month, while below 50 indicates contraction.

Despite a fall in the PMI index, China's non-manufacturing sector had been growing relatively fast as the index stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50, CFLP said.

The non-manufacturing index rose for the first time in three months in July, after dropping from the year's high of 62.5 per cent in April to 57 percent in June.

Major sub-indices dropped month-on-month in August, with the index for new orders declined 1.5 percentage points to 54.1 per cent last month while that for intermediate input prices declined to 60.2 per cent.

The federation's non-manufacturing PMI is based on a survey of about 1,200 companies in 20 industries including transport, real estate, retailing, catering and software.