India Services Growth Weakest In 14 Months

(RTTNews) - India's services activity expanded at the slowest pace in more than a year in March amid intensification in cost pressures, final data compiled by S&P Global showed on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI dropped 57.5 in March from 58.1 in February. Nonetheless, a score above 50.0 indicates expansion. The flash score was 57.2.

Total new orders grew at the slowest pace since early 2025, and output was constrained by the detrimental impact of the Middle East war on demand, market conditions, and tourism, the survey revealed.

Meanwhile, the growth in export orders logged a series-record high, driven by marked gains from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East.

On the price front, input price inflation accelerated to the highest level in forty-five months amid higher costs for chicken, cooking oil, eggs, electricity, fish, fruits, fuel, labor, meat, and vegetables. As a result, selling price inflation climbed to a 7-month high.

Service providers continued to add workforce numbers, and the latest rate of job creation was the strongest since mid-2025.

Looking ahead, companies remained positive about output expectations over the year ahead amid hopes of an improvement in demand and market conditions, along with fruitful advertising and better customer relations.

The composite output index dropped to 57.0 in March from 58.9 in the previous month, indicating the weakest rate of expansion in the Indian private sector economy in nearly three-and-a-half years.