New Delhi, Feb 4 The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI touched a two-month high of 58.5 in the month of January, from December's 58.0, noting quicker expansions in new business intakes and output, the S&P Global data showed on Wednesday.
Service providers in India welcomed a recovery in growth during January. They were also more upbeat towards the outlook and hired additional staff. On the price front, there were quicker albeit still moderate increases in input costs and selling charges.
The main features behind output growth were demand buoyancy, new business gains and tech investment, the report showed.
"India’s services PMI rose to 58.5 in January, up from 58.0 in December, signalling sustained momentum in the sector. Robust output growth was driven by a steady influx of new orders, including increased international demand from South and Southeast Asia,” said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC.
Business confidence climbed to a three-month high, supported by efficiency gains, effective marketing, and the acquisition of new clients.
“While input and output prices are rising, they remain fairly mild by historical standards. The composite PMI also strengthened in January, reflecting solid demand growth across both manufacturing and services,” Bhandari noted.
Survey participants remarked on new business gains from clients in Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Rising intakes of new work prompted service providers in India to resume hiring in January.
Granular data showed that Finance and Insurance topped the growth rankings for both output and new orders, despite being the only segment to post slowdowns since last December, said the report.
January data showed that the main source of new business gains was the domestic market, but international orders nevertheless rose solidly. Moreover, the pace of expansion was the most pronounced in three months, it added.
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