China July Caixin Services PMI Shows Slower Pace of Expansion

Activity in China's service sector expanded at a slightly slower pace in July, a private gauge showed Thursday, another indication of possible softness in the sector following weaker official data.

The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index edged down to 51.5 in July from 51.6 in June, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said. An official gauge released Monday also pointed to a slower expansion of the sector.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity from the previous month while a level below that points to a contraction.

"Downward pressure on the economy likely remains as the index gauging companies' confidence towards the 12-month business outlook dropped in both the manufacturing and services industries," said Zhengsheng Zhong, director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group.

The subindex for new business edged down and the subindex for input costs fell to its lowest level for nearly a year, Caixin said.

China's official nonmanufacturing PMI, which includes the construction sector, dropped to 54.5 in July from 54.9 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said. ?

-- Grace Zhu

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 02, 2017 22:17 ET (02:17 GMT)