India Services Growth Remains Strong In November

(RTTNews) - India's services activity continued to expand strongly in November amid record job creation and solid demand conditions, final data from S&P Global showed on Wednesday.

The HSBC final services Purchasing Managers' Index registered 58.4 in November, down slightly from 58.5 in October.

Total sales grew at a slower pace compared to October, while export orders rose at the quickest pace in three months, linked to more demand from clients in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the US.

In line with rising new order intakes, firms raised their workforce numbers at the fastest pace seen since the inception of the survey in December 2005.

On the price front, input price inflation accelerated to a 15-month high in November amid higher costs for food and labor. As a result, selling prices increased at the fastest rate in close to twelve years.

Looking ahead, service providers were more confident regarding the year-ahead outlook for business activity amid hopes of continued demand strength and expectations that marketing efforts will drive new business.

The composite output index dropped to 58.6 in November from 59.1 in October, indicating a sharp rate of expansion in the Indian private sector.