Services sector activity in India hits one-year low in November on slower order growth, output: PMI
India fell to a one-year low in November on softer expansions in new work intakes and output, despite receding price pressures, a monthly survey said on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services Business Activity Index fell from 58.4 in October to a one-year low of 56.9 in November. Despite witnessing a month-on-month decline, the rate of expansion was stronger than its long-run average.
In Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction. The survey is compiled from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 service sector companies. "India's service sector has lost further growth momentum midway through the third fiscal quarter, but we continue to see robust demand for services fuelling new business intakes and output.
The current rates of expansion look very healthy when considering their respective long-run averages and the outlook for business activity remains bright in spite of optimism fading due to rising inflation expectations," said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. On the prices front, rates of both input cost and output charge inflation slipped to eight-month lows. "Fewer companies hiked their own fees as a result, an aspect that might provide a further boost to demand as 2023 draws to a close," Lima said.
On the employment front, services companies curbed recruitment to some extent amid broadly stable levels of outstanding business among services companies. "... Given the lack of pressure on operating capacities signalled by stable backlog levels, services firms became more cautious when it comes to hiring.
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