Markit: Russia’s Services PMI falls to 55.6 in November

MOSCOW, Dec 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 55.6 in November from 56.9 in October and remained above the 50 no-change mark, which means an overall expansion, research company Markit said on Wednesday.

Markit’s Russia Composite Output Index that covers both manufacturing and services sectors fell to 55.0 in November from 55.8 in October.

Russian service sector firms registered a sharp rise in business activity in November. The upturn in output was supported by a robust increase in new business which was the second-fastest in a year. Foreign demand also strengthened, with new export orders expanding at the quickest rate since July, the survey said.

Output expectations towards the coming 12 months moderated in November. Service providers expressed a robust degree of confidence that was broadly in line with the long-run series average. Optimism reportedly stemmed from a sustained rise in new business and increased advertising activity.

“Russian service providers showed resilience in November, registering another sharp expansion in business activity. New order growth remained steep amid stronger domestic and foreign demand,” Sian Jones, economist at IHS Markit, commented on the survey. “Despite a faster decline in backlogs, services firms continued to expand workforce numbers, with the rate of job creation reaching a seven-month high.”

“Meanwhile, fuel and import costs continued to rise markedly. Nonetheless, buoyed by an improvement in client demand, service providers were encouraged to raise output charges solidly. As such, some strain was taken off profit margins,” he added.

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