Beijing: China’s non-manufacturing sector saw a slight dip in its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for November, registering a reading of 50, compared to 50.2 in October. This information was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday. A PMI reading above 50 signifies expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the service sector sub-index remained steady at 50.1 in November, identical to October’s figure. However, the construction sector experienced a decline, dropping to 49.7 from 50.4. This decrease is largely attributed to the onset of colder weather, which traditionally leads to a slowdown in outdoor construction activities.

The data further revealed that certain sectors, including internet software and information technology services, capital market services, and the insurance industry, experienced growth in November. In contrast, sectors such as retail, accommodation, and catering faced contraction.

Despite these mixed perfor
mances, the business expectation index for the service sector remained robust at 57.3 in November. NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe noted that industries like air transport, postal services, and monetary and financial services exhibited particularly strong optimism, with business expectation indices exceeding 65.

For the construction sector, the business expectation index rose to 55.6, indicating stable market development expectations among construction companies, according to Zhao. Additionally, the data released on Saturday showed that China’s manufacturing PMI slightly increased to 50.3 in November.