Indian service sector PMI expands marginally in April

03 May 2012 Evaluate

India’s service sector expanded slightly in the month of April. The HSBC PMI services index rose marginally to 52.8 in April as compared to 52.3 in March. Even though growth has been witnessed in the index, it continues to be below the trend. Inflationary pressures have continued in the month of April as well.

On a more positive note there has been an improvement in new orders which has extended the current period of expansion to three years. The expansion has also allowed service firms to add jobs for the second month in a row. Also survey respondents are significantly more optimistic about the outlook over the coming 12 months.

Inflation, however, has continued its rising trend with costs of input rising. Service providers also passed on the increased costs to clients by increasing output charges in April. Going forward inflationary pressures are expected to continue and the RBI has been advised caution if contemplating any further rate cuts. The recent rate cuts were termed as ‘premature’ and ‘too aggressive’ by the bank.

The bank had also come out with the manufacturing purchasing manager’s index yesterday which inched up to 54.9 in April, from 54.7 in March, showing a positive move after three months of declines.  Consequently, the HSBC composite output index (covering manufacturing and services) remained broadly unmoved at 53.8 in April.

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