Latest PMI data indicated that China's service economy continued to expand midway through the opening quarter of 2024. However, growth momentum softened slightly, with business activity expanding at the softest pace for three months amid a relatively subdued increase in overall new work. The latter was despite a solid increase in new orders from abroad. At the same time, business confidence around the yearahead moderated for the second month in a row and firms trimmed their staff numbers for the first time since last November. Chinese services companies signalled a slightly stronger increase in average input costs ... (full story)