China's manufacturing activity slows as flooding hits production

Robust services industry eclipses slower output growth in boost to recovery

Chinese economic activity continued to rebound in August, with a gauge of the services industry at the strongest level since early 2018 while the expansion in manufacturing activity slowed slightly.

The non-manufacturing gauge rose to 55.2 from July’s 54.2, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index moderated to 51 from 51.1 a month earlier. A reading above 50 indicates conditions improved from a month earlier.

China’s economy continued to recover from the slump in the first quarter, with government-led investment boosting demand and some reopening of overseas economies buoying the export sector. The hard-hit service industries