China's non-manufacturing sector further recovers in July

China's non-manufacturing activities continued to recover in July amid government efforts to spur consumption, official data showed Sunday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 53.8 in July, down 0.9 percentage points from June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Boosted by the pro-growth policies, the service sector continued to recover in July, noted NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe. The sub-index for business activities in the sector was 52.8, staying in the expansion range.

Among the 21 sectors surveyed, 16 industries were in the expansion territory, with the sub-indexes of air transportation, accommodation and catering activities all standing above 60, a relatively high level.

"With the suppressed consumer demand being unleashed, these sectors rebounded at an accelerated pace," Zhao said.

The confidence of non-manufacturing companies has strengthened, with the sub-index tracking operation activity expectations of this sector standing at 58.8, staying in the expansion territory for the second month in a row.

Expansion of the construction sector accelerated in July, with the sub-index for business activities in the sector standing at 59.2, increasing 2.6 percentage points from the previous month.

Data also showed the PMI for the manufacturing sector came in at 49 in July, down from 50.2 in June.