India’s services activity strengthened in September as resilient demand at home and abroad boosted business orders.
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India’s services activity strengthened in September as resilient demand at home and abroad boosted business orders.
The S&P Global India services purchasing managers’ index rose to 61 in September from 60.1 in August, with business activity and new work orders rising at one of the strongest paces in 13 years. A reading above 50 signals an expansion in activity, while a number below denotes a contraction.
“An upturn in business optimism about the year ahead, fueled by buoyant demand conditions, bode well to further growth across the service sector,” Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director with S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement.
Robust growth in India’s dominant services sector, which contributes to more than 50% of gross domestic product, has been key to creating jobs and bolstering growth for the world’s fastest growing economy.
Indian firms saw an upturn in demand from abroad, particularly from clients based in Asia, Europe and North America. Input cost inflation also retreated substantially, reducing cost pressures to one of the lowest in two-and-a-half years, the S&P data showed.
India’s manufacturing activity remained relatively strong last month, outperforming most other Asian economies. It helped to lift the S&P Global India composite index reading to 61 last month from 60.9 in August.
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