New Delhi: India’s services activities accelerated in August this year on the back of stronger expansions in business activity and new work.
Increase in new work orders pushed HSBC India services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) to 60.9 in August 2024 from 60.3 in the previous month.
The HSBC India services PMI, compiled by S&P Global and released on Wednesday, in August saw the strongest rate of expansion in the past five months since March.
Sub-sector data showed Finance & Insurance as the best-performing area of India’s service economy regarding both output and new business. Underlying data indicated that the pick-up in total sales growth was centred on the domestic market, as new export business increased at a slower pace in August.
Payroll numbers rose solidly in August as companies remained upbeat regarding the economic outlook.
The HSBC India Services PMI is compiled from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 service sector companies. The sectors covered include consumer (excluding retail), transport, information, communication, finance, insurance, real estate and business services.
August data showed another substantial increase in Indian private sector output. At 60.7, the HSBC India Composite Output Index matched July’s reading and therefore remained comfortably above its long-run average of 54.6.
“The Composite PMI for India continued to show strong growth in August, driven by accelerated business activity in the service sector, which experienced its fastest expansion since March. This growth was largely fuelled by an increase in new orders, particularly domestic orders. Employment levels remained robust, though there was a slight decrease in the pace of hiring compared to July,” said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC.
