China services growth softens in fresh sign of weakness - Times of India
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BEIJING: Expansion in China’s services industry slowed in June from the previous month, according to a private survey, providing more evidence that the key driver of the country’s post-Covid recovery is cooling. The Caixin China services purchasing managers’ index declined to 53.9 from 57.1 in May, Caixin and S&P Global said in a statement Wednesday, the weakest since January and well below the median forecast of 56.2 among economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Any reading over 50 indicates an expansion from the prior month, while a number below that suggests contraction. The drop indicates the stronger leg in China’s K-shaped economic recovery this year is losing momentum as consumers scale back spending on services such as travel and restaurants amid elevated youth unemployment and a gloomy income outlook. The data will likely spur more calls for the government to ramp up measures to support growth. “The pressure is mounting to stabilize employment,” said Bruce Pang, ch