China's logistics activity stable in May

BEIJING - China's logistics activity remained stable in May as the economy continued to stabilize, official data showed.

The logistics performance index for May came in at 57.7 percent, retreating 0.5 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion from the previous month, while a reading below indicates contraction.

In breakdown, the index for new orders stood at 57.4 percent, down 2.7 percentage points from that in April, which showed a slight fall in logistics demand during the period.

On the outlook, although the index measuring business expectation pulled back, it stayed at a high level of 62.3 percent.

He Hui, deputy head of China Logistics Information Center, expects logistics industry would gradually cool but maintain relatively fast expansion in coming months.

Earlier official data showed China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) expanded for the 10th straight month in May, while the non-manufacturing PMI increased at a faster pace, suggesting a stabilizing Chinese economy.

The manufacturing PMI came in at 51.2 in May, flat compared to April and staying above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.