Markit: Russia’s Services PMI falls to 55.1 points in January

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 55.1 in January from 56.8 in December 2017, researcher IHS Markit said in a report on Monday.

“Business activity growth across the Russian service sector remained strong in January, despite the pace of expansion easing to a three-month low. Similar to the trend in output, the latest upturn in new business was the softest since August 2017. Furthermore, backlogs continued to contract amid little sign of pressure on capacities,” Markit said.

Still, Markit’s Russia Composite Output Index, which comprises both manufacturing and services sectors, also contracted to 54.8 points in January from 56.0 in December. “The latest index reading signaled a softer overall expansion, with a slight acceleration in manufacturing growth being outweighed by a weaker upturn in service sector output,” the research note read.

Average prices for services grew insignificantly, and the growth was the slowest since March 2017. But backlogs continued contraction, and its pace accelerated to the fastest rate since April 2016. The speed of job creation in the sector slowed down to the five-month minimum, reflecting low pressure on capacity requirements, the researcher said.

“The Russian service sector indicated a solid start to 2018, with strong expansions in output and new business,” the company said quoting Economist Sian Jones.

End