Jul. 3, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), a major indicator of the strength of the non-manufacturing sector, rose to 56.7 in June this year, up 1.5 points from May, according to figures released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

The rise last month ended a decline for two consecutive months.

A reading on index above 50 indicates expansion, while the index below 50 indicates contraction.

In the construction sector, the non-manufacturing PMI dropped 1.1 points from May to 58.1 last month, while the figure in the service sector rose 2.1 points to 56.3.

After seasonal adjustment, the new order index increased 1.2 points from May to 53.7 last month. The new order index in the construction sector was steady at 54.2, followed by 53.6 in the service sector.

The intermediate input price index fell 1.5 points from the previous month to 52.1 in June. The intermediate input price index in the service sector was 53.3 last month and was 47.2 in the construction sector, down 1.2 points and 2.5 points MoM, respectively.

The non-manufacturing PMI is based on a survey of about 1,200 firms in 20 industries, including transport, real estate, retailing, catering and software.