India’s resilient service sector expands in Dec at sharpest pace since July

04 Jan 2012 Evaluate

Service sector activity in India improved in the month of December as the sector grew at the fastest pace since July on the back of strong new business and output growth. The encouraging service sector report came a day after manufacturing activity data showed that the sector resiliently bounced in the month of December as it accelerated at a swiftest pace in last six months, highlighting the fact that the Indian private sector output registered strong growth in the last month of 2011.

According to the seasonally adjusted HSBC Business Activity Index, the service sector accelerated to 54.2 in December, as against 53.2 in the previous month of 2011. A figure above 50 signals expansion in production while, a number below 50 indicates contraction. Though the service sector growth in the month under review remained lower than the long-run series average, however, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) reading for the services sector, which measures the overall health of the sector, suggested that activity saw strongest improvement in business conditions in last five months.

After showing signs of cooling and even slipping to a two and a half year low of 49.1 in October, the service sector has bounced back as new orders increased for the thirty-second straight month in December while outstanding business also rose after remaining broadly unchanged in the last two months. Besides, employment in the sector too rose in the month after six straight months of showing job losses. But, the rate of input cost inflation grew deeper as it rose at the fastest rate in four months, remained stubbornly above the long-run series average.

Thus, the strong Manufacturing and Service sector PMI have propelled the HSBC Composite Index, which covers both the manufacturing and service sectors, to 54.7 in the 2011’s last month, higher from 52.3 seen in November 2011. However, concerns over slowing domestic economic condition amid uncertainty over global growth prospects still pose potential downside risks for the sectors. 

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