China's non-manufacturing sector expands faster in June

BEIJING - China's non-manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace in June, official data showed Saturday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector came in at 55 in June, up from 54.9 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

The service sector, which accounts for more than half of the country's GDP, showed sound momentum, with the sub-index measuring business activity in the industry standing at 54, unchanged from the reading in May.

Faster expansion was seen in air and railway transportation, telecommunications, and banking industries, the NBS said.

The construction industry registered faster expansion, with the sub-index measuring its business activity reaching 60.7 in June, the highest point this year.

The NBS data also showed that the manufacturing PMI came in at 51.5 this month, while the composite PMI output index came in at 54.4 in June.