HSBC announces January China services PMI 52

HSBC's China Business Activity index (HSBC's China services PMI) was 52.0, down from 53.1 last December, according to a report released yesterday by Yangshui HSBC.　　According to the survey, the latest index was just above the November 2008 minimum record of 51.2, far below the long-term average of 57.6. Qu Hongbin, chief economist at HSBC, said the service purchasing managers ' index continued to fall to an unexpected level close to the financial crisis.　　It is likely that property regulation and monetary tightening have affected sentiment and curbed business activity. "However, there is no need to worry about economic growth, supported by strong consumer spending and a large number of investment projects under construction." In fact, moderate growth in the service sector helps curb inflation in the service sector.　　"said Qu. January data showed new business growth continued to slow at the start of the year, creating a 25-month low. Respondents said the slowdown in new business growth was related to the relative weakness of customer demand.　　The slowdown in new business growth has led to a further decline in unfinished business, indicating that there is still ample capacity in the service sector. China's services sector continued to hire more workers in January, but the growth rate of new jobs has slowed to the lowest since 1.5, mainly because of relatively weak growth in new business, according to the HSBC survey.　　Currently, the service industry has been expanding for two consecutive years. In addition, the average cost of investment in China's services continued to rise in January, with a strong increase over the long-term average. At present, the trend of rising costs has lasted for 15 months. Surveys show that rising costs are the result of a rise in human costs and a combined effect of raw material prices.