India services PMI expands at fastest pace
in 5 months on buoyant demand
India's
services sector activity gained momentum and touched a five-month high in
December, supported by uptick in new business orders that boosted output as
well as employment, a monthly survey showed on Monday.
The
IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index improved from 52.7 in
November to 53.3 in December, highlighting the second-strongest rate of
increase in output in over a year, after July.
"The news of
sustained job creation, robust new order growth and a pick-up in business
confidence suggest that expansion can be maintained in the early part of
2020," said Pollyanna de Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit.
Survey
members linked the rise to better market conditions and new business growth.
Moreover, total sales expanded for the third consecutive month at the end of
the year, and at the quickest pace since October 2016.
On
the prices front, input costs increased further in December, with monitored
firms citing higher charges for food, fuel, medical products and transport.
"Worryingly,
inflationary pressures intensified, with the fastest rise in input costs for
almost seven years pushing output charge inflation to a 22-month high,"
the survey said.
On
the employment front, driven by rise in new business orders, service providers
continued to hire extra staff in December and employment increased for the 28th
month in succession.
The
survey further noted that Indian services firms expect marketing efforts and
favourable economic conditions to boost business activity during 2020. However,
the overall level of positive sentiment remained below its long-run average.
Meanwhile,
the Composite PMI Output Index that maps both the manufacturing and services
sector, rose from 52.7 in November to 53.7, reflecting stronger rates of
expansion in both the manufacturing and service sectors.
Comments
Post a Comment