(June 5): China’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace since July last year, a private survey showed, pointing to resilience that may alleviate concerns over the economy’s outlook after weak official figures.

The Caixin China services purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 54 in May, according to a statement released jointly by Caixin and S&P Global on Wednesday. That’s the highest in 10 months, and beat the median forecast of 52.5 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Any reading above 50 suggests an expansion.

The private survey result provided investors with a respite from worries stoked by official data published last week showing only moderate growth in the services sector in May, and an unexpected shrinkage in the manufacturing industry. A Caixin poll of Chinese manufacturers, published on Monday, also indicated solid expansion in factory activity last month.

The private gauge of services activity has indicated an expansion for 17 straight months, with total new orders increasing at the quickest pace in a year on recovering demand, according to the statement.

“Market sentiment remained optimistic. Surveyed companies were generally confident about future market prospects, although they expressed concerns over the global economic landscape and growing costs of raw materials,” said Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, in the statement.

The Caixin survey focuses on smaller firms compared to the official services PMI.