India’s services sector showed a slowdown in activity in the month of March compared to the soaring growth seen in February. To illustrate this, the S&P Global India services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) went from a 12-year high of 59.4 in February to 57.8 in March. This figure was lower than the 58.3 that had been expected according to a Reuters poll. Despite this, the index stayed above the 50-mark between growth and contraction for the 20th consecutive month.
The S&P Global Market Intelligence economics associate director, Pollyanna De Lima noted that whilst there was an increase in new business intake and output in the services sector, there was a moderation of overall input cost inflation. This was found to be at a two-and-a-half-year low. Additionally, earlier data from the week revealed that the manufacturing sector expanded in March at the fastest pace in three months, however the services sector weak helped to lower the composite index from 59.0 in February to 58.4.
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Pollyanna De Lima is an economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. She made an insightful comment regarding the recent developments in the Indian service sector. De Lima is a respected and esteemed economist, having had a long and impressive career. She has been a consultant in international organizations and institutions like the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS) of Indonesia. She is also the author of several publications in the fields of international finance, development, and macroeconomics.
