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Informist, Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2025

 

--India Feb services PMI 59.0 vs 56.5 in Jan

--India Feb composite PMI 58.8 vs 57.7 in Jan

 

NEW DELHI – Services sector activity in India grew at a sharply faster pace in February compared to January's 26-month low of 56.5, with the HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index jumping to 59.0, S&P Global said Wednesday.

 

Despite the noteworthy increase, the final services PMI number for February is lower than the provisional estimate, with the flash PMI released on Feb. 21 pegging last month's print at 61.1. A PMI reading of more than 50 denotes expansion in activity from the previous month, while a print below 50 is indicative of contraction.

 

"Global demand, which grew at its fastest pace in six months according to the new export business index, played a major role in driving output growth for India's services sector," Pranjul Bhandari, HSBC's chief India economist, said.

 

India's services exports have risen sharply in recent months and are now almost on a par with merchandise exports. As per latest data, India's services exports in January amounted to $34.73 billion, while goods exports stood at $36.43 billion.

 

According to S&P Global, Indian service providers recruited heavily in February to meet new business orders and manage capacity pressures, with employment rising last month "at one of the fastest rates seen since data collection began in December 2005". While this contributed to higher costs--along with greater expenditure on food, material, and packaging--S&P Global's survey showed that input prices rose the least in four months in February. Service providers passed on the additional cost burden to their customers.

 

The services PMI number comes after data released Monday showed that the manufacturing index fell to a 14-month low of 56.3 in February. However, the rise in the services print was enough to pull up last month's composite PMI to 58.8 from 57.7 in January, lower than the flash number of 60.6.  End

 

US$1 = INR 87.12

 

Reported by Siddharth Upasani

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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