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Informist, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024

 

--India Oct services PMI 58.5 vs 57.7 in Sept

--India Oct composite PMI 59.1 vs 58.3 in Sept

 

NEW DELHI - India's services sector activity expanded at a faster pace in October than September, with the HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index rising to 58.5 from September's 10-month low of 57.7, S&P Global said Wednesday. The final print for October is higher than the provisional estimate, with the flash PMI released on Oct. 24 pegging last month's services print at 57.9.

 

A PMI reading of more than 50 denotes expansion in activity from the previous month, while a print below 50 is indicative of contraction. "During October, the Indian services sector experienced strong expansions in output and consumer demand, as well as job creation, which achieved a 26-month high," Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said in a statement.

 

S&P Global's survey said that October saw "robust sales pipelines and strong demand conditions" for services, with new export orders also recovering. Meanwhile, hiring by service providers surged, with around 13% of respondents saying they employed more staff in October, up from 9% in September. Higher orders exerted pressures on firms' capacities, forcing them to increase payrolls, with S&P Global noting that outstanding business volumes rose for the 34th month in a row, with the increase in October the highest since July.

 

On the price front, service providers' costs rose the most in three months in October, primarily due to more expensive labour and food. They continued to pass on some of the burden to the consumer, with selling price inflation at its highest since July. "Although input price inflation is accelerating from higher food and wage costs, the general inflation trajectory remains below the long-run average," HSBC's Bhandari said.

 

The services PMI data comes two days after the release of the manufacturing number, which showed the sector's PMI rose to 57.5 from September's eight-month low of 56.5. With the services PMI also rising, the composite PMI, also released on Wednesday, increased to 59.1 from 58.3 in September, edging closer to the 60 mark it had stayed above for the first eight months of 2024.  End

 

Reported by Siddharth Upasani

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

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