The Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) of China's non-manufacturing industries climbed to 58.1 percent in July, up 1.2 percent month on month, China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) released the statistics on its website on Monday.

The rise was attributed to the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, along with the relatively less influence brought by seasonal factors, said Gao Wei, director of CFLP's information analysis center.

The index focuses on the construction business, and the service industries.

Construction business posted the highest index of 68.3 percent, with customer service the lowest as 54.9 percent.

When the PMI of non-manufacturing industries is under 50 percent, the sectors are shrinking and when PMI is over 50 percent, they are expanding.

The index has been above 50 percent since it was first publicized in January, except February -- the Chinese New Year -- when many businesses stopped operating for the holiday, and also the time when China was hit by a heavy snow storm.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2008)