China Official Nonmanufacturing PMI 55.4 in Sep Vs 53.4 in Aug

An official gauge of China's factory activity rose in September, reflecting continued resilience in the world's second-largest economy, government data showed Saturday.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index increased to 52.4 from August's 51.7. The index has now stayed above the 50 mark that separates an expansion of activity from a contraction for 14 months.

The September reading beat a median forecast of 51.5 by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

The subindex measuring new orders climbed to 54.8 from 53.1 in August, while the production subindex improved to 54.7 from 54.1, the statistics bureau said.

China's official nonmanufacturing PMI, also released Saturday, rose to 55.4 in September from 53.4 in August.

--Grace Zhu

Corrections & Amplifications

This article was corrected on Sept. 29, 2017 at 9:52 p.m. ET because the original headline misidentified the economic indicator.

"China Official Nonmanufacturing PMI 55.4 in Sep Vs 53.4 in Aug," published at 0112 GMT, misidentified the economic indicator in the headline. The indicator was about the country's official manufacturing manufacturing index, index increased to 52.4l last month from August's 51.7.

BEIJING--China's official nonmanufacturing purchasing managers' index, a measure of activity outside factory gates, rose to 55.4 in September, from 53.4 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion, while a figure below that level indicates a contraction.

The subindex for services climbed to 54.4 from 52.6 in August while the subindex for construction increased to 61.1 from 58.0, the bureau said.

The new orders subindex for the entire sector rose to 52.3 from 50.9.

The official manufacturing PMI, also released September, rose to 52.4 in September from 51.7 in August.

The nonmanufacturing PMI covers services including retail, aviation and software as well as the real-estate and construction sectors.

The data are based on replies to monthly questionnaires sent to purchasing executives at 4,000 companies in 27 nonmanufacturing sectors.

The China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing issues the data together with the National Bureau of Statistics.

Write to Grace Zhu at grace.zhu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2017 21:38 ET (01:38 GMT)