China's December non-manufacturing PMI drops to 54.5

The Wall Street Journal reports China’s official non-manufacturing purchasing managers index, a measure of activity outside factory gates, fell to 54.5 in December from 54.7 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion, while a figure below that level indicates a contraction. The subindex for service fell to 53.2 from 53.7 in November, and the subindex of construction increased to 61.9 from 60.4, the statistics bureau said. The new orders subindex for the entire sector rose to 52.1 from 51.8. The official manufacturing PMI, also released Sunday, fell to 51.4 in December from 51.7 in November. The non-manufacturing 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 non-manufacturing sectors.