Markit: Russia’s Services PMI falls to 55.5 in February

MOSCOW, Mar 3 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) decreased to 55.5 points in February after soaring to a 102-month high of 58.4 points in January, researcher Markit said in a statement on Friday.

“The Russia Composite Output Index posted 55.4, down from 58.3 at the start of 2017,” the researcher said.

“Russian service providers signaled a loss of growth momentum in February, following January’s substantial improvement in business activity. Nonetheless, output still rose at a solid rate, helped by a continued upturn in new work. Job creation was evident for the second straight month, albeit at a marginal pace.”

Price pressures eased, particularly on the cost-side. With growth maintained and prices rising at a slower pace, services firms remained strongly optimistic about the coming year, the statement read.

Russian private sector growth failed to reach the high standard set at the start of 2017 in February, as shown by the PMI dropping from its long-time high. Upturns eased in both the manufacturing and service sectors in terms of output and new work, Markit said citing Senior Economist Paul Smith as saying.

“That said, the Russian economy remains in reasonable shape overall. Job creation was sustained in both sectors, while price pressures continued to ease. The outlook for private sector companies is therefore bright, particularly when compared to data in recent years. Optimism was the second-strongest since August 2013,” Smith said.

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