(Yicai Global) Feb. 5 -- China's Caixin General Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell 0.7 point to a three-month low of 51.8 in January, IHS Markit, which publishes the index, said today.

Total new orders rose at a slower rate despite a faster rise in new work from abroad, HIS said. Firms were paying higher operating costs and efforts to reduce these led to stagnation of employment across the sector, it added, saying prices fell as service providers sought to increase sales.

China's economic recovery was not strong enough due to limited improvement in demand, and some companies did not replenish inventory, said Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist at CEBM Group.