(Yicai Global) Dec. 31 -- China’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, an indicator of economic activity in both the country’s manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, continued its growth streak in December for the 10th month running.

December’s Composite PMI was 55.1, a slight dip of 0.6 points from November, but the fourth consecutive month above 55, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion and one below 50 shows contraction.

The Manufacturing PMI dropped 0.2 points from November to 51.9, still indicating a strong recovery in factory output. The Non-Manufacturing PMI reached 55.7, a fall of 0.7 percentage points from November, but also demonstrating a good rebound in the services and construction sectors.

China’s economy continued its strong recovery and upward trend this month, with the Composite PMI, Manufacturing PMI and Non-manufacturing PMI all staying above 50 for the 10th month running, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the NBS service industry survey center.

The production index and the new order subindexes, two of five sub-indexes that make up the Manufacturing PMI, reached 54.2 and 53.6, the second highest readings this year and a slight drop of 0.5 and 0.3 points from last month.

The construction sector did well, surging 0.2 points from November to 60.7. The service sector scored 54.8, a drop of 0.9 points. Business optimism in the service sector has stayed high for the last six months. The export index has also grown for four straight months.

Editor: Kim Taylor