Chinese December Caixin Services PMI Dec: 55.8 (prev 57.5)

Latest PMI data indicated that Chinese services activity growth slowed in December, but remained marked overall. New business also expanded at a softer pace, amid only a modest increase in new export sales. Business confidence meanwhile remained robust and improved to the highest since April 2011 due to hopes of a further rebound in global economic conditions.

Chinese December Caixin Services PMI - Full Report

At the same time, firms continued to add to their payrolls, which helped to reduce levels of backlogged work. Prices data revealed a further sharp rise in input costs, which led firms to increase their output charges at the quickest rate since January 2008.