New Delhi: India’s services sector activity continued to expand in September, supported by favorable underlying demand amid easing of COVID-19 restrictions, but lost some momentum from 18-month highs in August, a monthly survey on Tuesday said. where did it go.
Seasonally Adjusted India Services Business Activity The index fell from 56.7 in August to 55.2 in September, but remained well above its long-term average.
“Despite easing from August, the rate of expansion was marked and is the second fastest since February 2020,” the survey said.
Buoyed by signs of improvement in underlying demand, Indian service providers laid off additional staff during September.
The growth in employment ended the sequence of nine months of job losses, but the overall was modest as some panelists indicated there were enough workforces to cope with their workload.
The service sector saw an increase in production for the second consecutive month. In Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 indicates expansion, while a score below 50 indicates contraction.
“Indian companies continued to benefit from the recovery in demand as the pandemic eased further and restrictions were lifted,” said Poliana de Lima, associate director of economics. A better market environment meant companies were able to secure new jobs during September. and managed to increase business activities. IHS Market.
However, despite a steady recovery in the sector, business confidence weakened in September.
“While better demand forecasts in the coming year supported business confidence on production, growth appears to be hindered by rising inflation expectations. Despite the reversal of input cost inflation in September, we saw a reversal of service providers due to this factor. saw a substantial decline in positive sentiment between the two countries,” Lima said.
In addition, travel restrictions continued to weigh on international demand for Indian services. The survey said that for the nineteenth consecutive month there has been a decline in new export business.
Business activity in India’s private sector increased further in September, as both manufacturing and service production continued to expand.
The overall PMI output index – which measures combined services and manufacturing output – stood at 55.3 in September, changing little from 55.4 in August.
On the price front, the average cost burden on Indian service providers increased further during September amid reports of higher fuel, material, retail and transport prices.
The overall rate of inflation was “solid” but fell to an eight-month low.
Economists believe that reserve Bank of India The monetary policy discussion on October 6-8 is expected to continue with an accommodative policy stance.
On the macro-economic front, subdued prices of food items like vegetables pushed retail inflation for the third straight month to 5.3 per cent in August, which was within RBI’s comfort zone.
Retail inflation, which rose sharply to 6.3 per cent in May from 4.23 per cent in April, has been on a downward trend since then. It was 6.26 per cent in June and 5.59 per cent in July this year.
Seasonally Adjusted India Services Business Activity The index fell from 56.7 in August to 55.2 in September, but remained well above its long-term average.
“Despite easing from August, the rate of expansion was marked and is the second fastest since February 2020,” the survey said.
Buoyed by signs of improvement in underlying demand, Indian service providers laid off additional staff during September.
The growth in employment ended the sequence of nine months of job losses, but the overall was modest as some panelists indicated there were enough workforces to cope with their workload.
The service sector saw an increase in production for the second consecutive month. In Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 indicates expansion, while a score below 50 indicates contraction.
“Indian companies continued to benefit from the recovery in demand as the pandemic eased further and restrictions were lifted,” said Poliana de Lima, associate director of economics. A better market environment meant companies were able to secure new jobs during September. and managed to increase business activities. IHS Market.
However, despite a steady recovery in the sector, business confidence weakened in September.
“While better demand forecasts in the coming year supported business confidence on production, growth appears to be hindered by rising inflation expectations. Despite the reversal of input cost inflation in September, we saw a reversal of service providers due to this factor. saw a substantial decline in positive sentiment between the two countries,” Lima said.
In addition, travel restrictions continued to weigh on international demand for Indian services. The survey said that for the nineteenth consecutive month there has been a decline in new export business.
Business activity in India’s private sector increased further in September, as both manufacturing and service production continued to expand.
The overall PMI output index – which measures combined services and manufacturing output – stood at 55.3 in September, changing little from 55.4 in August.
On the price front, the average cost burden on Indian service providers increased further during September amid reports of higher fuel, material, retail and transport prices.
The overall rate of inflation was “solid” but fell to an eight-month low.
Economists believe that reserve Bank of India The monetary policy discussion on October 6-8 is expected to continue with an accommodative policy stance.
On the macro-economic front, subdued prices of food items like vegetables pushed retail inflation for the third straight month to 5.3 per cent in August, which was within RBI’s comfort zone.
Retail inflation, which rose sharply to 6.3 per cent in May from 4.23 per cent in April, has been on a downward trend since then. It was 6.26 per cent in June and 5.59 per cent in July this year.
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