India Services Growth Strongest In 4 Months

(RTTNews) - India's services activity expanded at an accelerated pace at the end of the year, spurred by buoyant demand conditions, final data from S&P Global showed on Monday.

The HSBC final services Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 59.3 in December from 58.4 in the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. The flash score was 60.8.

New orders grew at the quickest pace in four months amid strong demand environment. Among sub-sector levels, finance and insurance again registered the fastest gains in new business and activity.

On the price front, input price inflation eased in December from November's 15-month high. Output price inflation stayed above its long-run trend, despite slowing from the prior month.

Looking ahead, service companies remained confident about output expectations over the next year on the back of expanded capacities, new customer inquiries, and budget allocation towards marketing.

Increased new business, optimistic projections, and rising capacity pressures all forced firms to increase their workforce numbers in December, but the pace of job creation softened since November. The composite output index rose to 59.2 in December from 58.6 in November, indicating another sharp rate of expansion in the Indian private sector.