Growth in China’s service sector picked up in August. New orders expanded modestly and employment levels stabilised, with business expectations rising to a six-month high.

A private survey published on Monday placed the service purchasing managers’ index to 52.1 in August, a rise from 51.7 in July.

Experts say that stronger activity in the service sector supports the growing consensus that China’s central bank will hold off on further monetary easing. This includes interest rate cuts expected to remain unchanged through the rest of the year.