date:Mar 26, 2014
, Oliver Kolodeseike, an economist at Markit, said in an e-mailed statement. Although the rate of expansion in activity eased to a three-month low, growth in the three months to March was the joint-strongest since mid-2011.
The report comes after another survey on March 24 showed manufacturing in China weakened for a fifth straight month, deepening concern the nation will miss its 7.5-percent growth target this year. The Purchasing Managers Index from HSBC Holdings Plc. and Markit dropped to 48