Mumbai, Dec. 3 -- China's service sector continued to expand in the penultimate month of the year, according to latest PMI data. Growth in services activity was driven by a sustained increase in new business, though in each case the rate of expansion slowed since October.

This was despite a renewed rise in new export business. Meanwhile, staffing levels continued to fall, which contributed to higher amounts of backlogged work. Optimism among service providers regarding the 12-month outlook also softened.

On prices, average input costs rose at a faster pace than seen on average over the past year, which led to a renewed increase in output prices.

The headline RatingDog China General Services Business Activity Index fell slightly from 52.6...