India's services growth slows a touch but still solid, PMI shows
job creation, despite elevated cost pressures pushing up selling-price inflation to a seven-year high, a survey showed.
The HSBC final India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell marginally to 60.3 in July from 60.5 in June and was considerably below a preliminary estimate of 61.1.
However, the overall pace of expansion was sharp and the index remained above the 50-mark that separates contraction from expansion for the 36th straight month.
It was the longest streak of expansion since the inception of the series in December 2005.
«Service sector activity rose at a slightly slower pace in July, with new business increasing further, primarily driven by domestic demand. Looking ahead, services firms remained optimistic about the outlook for year-ahead,» noted Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.
Strong demand and favourable conditions edged up the new business sub-index. International demand, though increasing at a slower pace than June's fastest rise in a decade, also indicated robust demand from abroad.
The new export business gauge was the third-highest since the sub-index was added to the survey in September 2014. The first and second highest were also recorded this year in May and June, respectively.
The solid demand outlook drove a rebound in expectations for activity in the next 12 months, lifting the future activity sub-index from an 11-month low set in June.
That led to another strong level of hiring, despite easing mildly from June's 22-month high. Companies
