Growth in China's services sector eased in November, with a private gauge showing the weakest expansion in five months, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The RatingDog general services purchasing managers index fell to 52.1 in November from 52.6 in October. The reading still indicated expansion but marked the lowest level since June.

The subindex of total new orders stayed in growth territory, though the pace slowed compared with October. Export orders improved, helped by stronger marketing and a temporary trade truce between China and the US.

Service providers continued to reduce staffing in November, though the rate of job cuts eased slightly. Companies surveyed by RatingDog remained optimistic, but the future business activity expectations index dropped to its lowest since April.