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POLITICAL ECONOMY
Services Activity Near Two-Year High As China Fuel Price Rise

China raises fuel prices for 4th time this year: govt
China said it was raising petrol and diesel prices by up to five percent from Wednesday, the fourth hike this year, setting new highs in some areas as it moves closer to a market-based pricing system. The average maximum retail price for petrol is to be raised by 300 yuan (43.9 dollars) per tonne, or 4.2 percent, to 7,610 yuan, China's top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced. The maximum retail price for diesel will be raised by 4.6 percent to 6,870 yuan per tonne, it said in a statement. The price hike was the sixth adjustment of domestic fuel prices so far this year -- four hikes and two drops -- since the government put in place a more market-based pricing mechanism. The NDRC said the new price increase was "in line with recent movements in international crude prices". New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, was 52 cents higher at 68.57 dollars a barrel in Asian trade on Wednesday. In late July, fuel prices were cut by nearly three percent, in line with the falling price of crude. The latest price hike brought petrol prices to record highs in some regions, state media said. Petrol will cost 6.43 yuan (94 US cents) per litre in Beijing, 3.7 percent higher than the previous peak hit in June 2008, the China Securities Journal reported, citing Niu Li, an economist with the State Information Centre, a think tank linked with the NDRC. The government said in May that it could adjust domestic fuel prices when the moving average of a basket of international crudes changed more than four percent over a period of 22 working days.
by Staff Writers
 Beijing (AFP) Sept 3, 2009
 China's services activity expanded in August for the third straight month and reached the highest level in nearly two years, according to an independent survey released Thursday.

The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the services sector rose to a seasonally adjusted 60.6 in August from 60.1 in July, according to a survey by Markit Economics on behalf of HSBC.

A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates an overall decline.

"Services sector activities are rebounding strongly, as indicated by a rise in the business activity index to 60.6 - its highest level since September 2007 and evidently higher than the historical average of 58.1," Qu Hongbin, a Hong Kong-based economist for HSBC, said in a statement.

"This implies that China's investment-led recovery is more broad-based, as stimulus measures filter through the other parts of the economy, boosting sentiment and lifting both enterprise and consumer demand for various services."

Beijing announced a four-trillion-yuan (585-billion-dollar) stimulus package last year in a bid to prop up growth in the world's third largest economy by boosting spending on infrastructure and other government-backed projects.

The HSBC Composite Output Index, which combines PMI for manufacturing and services, rose to 59.4 in August from 56.9 in July, signalling overall activity grew at the second-fastest rate since the survey began in November 2005.

The survey of purchasing executives at 400 private sector service companies found employment rose for the seventh straight month to 55.1 in August -- the highest level since April 2008 -- from 52.6 in July.

"As private enterprises represent a large proportion of the service sector, the more vibrant services activities are not only important to sustain China's growth recovery, but also crucial for job creation, one of the top concerns of policy-makers," said Qu.

The services sector accounts for around 40 percent of China's economy.

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POLITICAL ECONOMY
World Bank chief says China stimulus should continue
 Beijing (AFP) Sept 2, 2009
 World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Wednesday it was too soon for China to roll back its massive stimulus measures as the world's third largest economy could yet falter on the road to recovery. Zoellick, in Beijing this week for talks with Chinese leaders, said he was not worried about inflation as it was more important to keep the economic revival on track. "China's actions have ... read more






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