Oct services' output expands at fastest pace in over 10 yrs

India's services sector output grew at the fastest rate in over 10 years during October, the IHS Markit India Services PMI said on Wednesday.

According to the PMI report, the recovery of India's service sector was extended to October, with companies indicating a notable pick-up in new businesses which led to the fastest expansion in output in over a decade.

"More jobs were created as result, though business confidence remained subdued due to growing concerns surrounding price pressures," the report said.

"With input costs again rising sharply, companies lifted their fees at the fastest pace in close to four and a half years."

Consequently, the seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index showed that output expanded at the rate of 58.4 (index reading) in October from 55.2 in September.

Moreover, the current sequence of expansion was extended to three months.


As per panel members, ongoing improvements in demand boosted growth of sales and subsequently output.

"Indeed, new work intakes increased at a sharp and accelerated rate, the strongest since July 2011. Moreover, the latest upturn was the third in successive months. Survey participants commonly linked sales growth to better underlying demand and successful marketing."

"Indian firms were able to secure a healthy intake of new work despite charging more for their services. Output prices rose at a solid rate that was the strongest since July 2017. Anecdotal evidence suggested that additional cost burdens were passed on to clients - IANS