BEIJING — The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 52.3 in November, down from 52.4 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Nov 30.

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

Business activities in the non-manufacturing sector continued expansion and generally maintained stable recovery, according to NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

In November, the sub-index for business activities in the services sector stood at 51.1, down 0.5 percentage points from that in October.

Producer services sectors that are closely related to manufacturing activities saw their sub-index above 55 percent. Sectors such as information, financial and business services registered marked increases in their business volume, said the NBS.

The data on Nov 30 also showed that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.1 in November, up from 49.2 in October.