China Private Sector Growth Improves

(RTTNews) - China's manufacturing and services sectors expanded at faster rates in September as robust new orders underpinned employment, survey results from S&P Global showed Wednesday.

The RatingDog China general manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.1 in September from 51.5 in August.

The score was above forecast of 51.7 and also remained above the 50.0 no-change mark for the tenth straight month.

Growth in manufacturing production accelerated amid rising demand from both domestic and overseas customers.

In turn, firms increased their purchasing activity and workforce numbers to cope with the growth in workloads. Meanwhile, rising cost pressures led to a renewed increase in output prices in September, the survey showed.

Confidence among manufacturers improved in September amid expectations for better global macroeconomic conditions and the implementation of business development plans.

"The manufacturing PMI is expected to remain in expansionary territory in the near term," RatingDog Founder Yao Yu said.

At the same time, the headline services PMI registered 51.6 in September, up from 51.4 in the prior month. The score suggested that activity grew at the fastest rate in three months and remained above forecast of 51.3.

Stronger inflows of new work underpinned activity and supported a further increase in employment. Business confidence regarding the year ahead also improved among service providers.

Regarding prices, the survey showed that output charges fell for the first time in four months amid intense market competition, even as input costs continued to increase.

The composite output index that combines manufacturing and services performances rose to 52.4 in September from 52.1 in the previous month. The private sector growth hit a three-month high.

Elsewhere, the official purchasing managers' survey data showed that China's manufacturing activity returned to the expansion territory in September. The factory PMI rose to 50.1, in line with expectations, from 49.8 in August.

The non-manufacturing activity also recovered in September, with the index rising 1.2 percentage points to 50.2, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The score was forecast to rise to 49.2.