China's non-manufacturing sector improves for third straight month in December

BEIJING: Non-manufacturing sector continue to improve for the third straight month in December, adding to signs of a rebound in slowing Chinese economy, an official survey has said.

The Purchasing Managers Index of the non-manufacturing sector was 56.1 per cent in December, up 0.5 percentage points from November marking a rise for third consecutive month, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing ( CFLP) said.

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

Cai Jin, vice chairman of the CFLP, said that the figure showed a continued rebound and accelerating growth in the non-manufacturing sector.

The figures followed Tuesday's release of the manufacturing sector PMI, which remained unchanged at 50.6 per cent from November but was the third consecutive month for it to stay above 50 per cent, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

With economic data improving in recent months, many economists have projected a growth rebound in China in the last quarter of the year.

Flagging exports and government measures to contain inflation dragged down the economy's growth to 7.4 per cent in the third quarter, the slowest pace in more than three years