The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI (purchasing managers index) rose to 58.5 in December from 56.4 in the previous month. This is the highest rate of expansion since mid-2022, said S& P in its report adding that the companies commonly linked the upturn to robust intakes of new work and favourable market conditions.
There is an improvement in the health of the Indian service sector with more job creation and expansion in business activity. “The finance and insurance segment recorded the quickest increase in output, whereas real estate & business services propped the rankings. New business received by Indian services companies increased for the seventeenth month in a row in December. Moreover, the rate of expansion was sharp and the fastest since August,” said S&P.
Finance and Insurance was the best-performing sector with regards to sales, while real estate and business services saw the slowest expansion in fresh orders. Meanwhile, input costs at services companies rose further with companies mentioning wage pressures and higher prices for energy, food and transportation. The overall rate of inflation quickened from November and was above its long-run average. By sector, input cost inflation was most acute in consumer services, as per the report.