Growth of non-manufacturing sector slows further in November

BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The growth of China's non-manufacturing sector slowed further in November, as indicated by the drop of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Saturday.

The non-manufacturing sector's PMI, a key economic indicator, fell sharply to 49.7 percent in November from 57.7 percent one month earlier, the CFLP said.

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

The decline represents a further pullback following a month-on-month drop in October.

It also comes after China's PMI, a preliminary indicator of the country's manufacturing activity, slumped to 49 percent in the same period, indicating contraction for the first time since its last under-50-percent reading in February 2009.

"Less active consumption in the off-season and the sluggish demand in the construction sector combined to weigh down the index," said Cai Jin, vice president of the CFLP.

Major sub-indices for the non-manufacturing sector fell month-on-month, with the index for new export orders down 4.8 percentage points to 45.6 percent last month, while that for intermediate input prices shed 1.3 percentage points to 54.4 percent.

The index for new orders posted the biggest drop, down 5.3 percentage points to 47.2 percent, the CELP said.

Bucking the trend, the business outlook edged up 0.1 percentage points to 60.7 percent.

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.