Markit: Russia’s Services PMI rises to 55.5 points in April

MOSCOW, May 7 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 55.5 points in April from 53.7 points in March, researcher Markit said in a statement on Monday.

The index was above the 50 no-change mark, which signified an overall expansion.

“Following a slowdown at the end of the first quarter of 2018, April survey data signaled a strong start to the second quarter across the Russian service sector. Rates of business activity and new order growth picked up and the pace of job creation was solid overall,” Sian Jones, economist at HIS Markit, said.

Meanwhile, inflationary pressures intensified. Rates of both input price and output charge inflation accelerated markedly and reached multi-year peaks.

Markit’s Russia Composite Output Index that covers both manufacturing and services sectors rose to 54.9 in April from 53.2 in March. “The latest overall increase in output was strong and driven by faster expansions in both the manufacturing and service sectors.”

New business received by Russian service providers continued to increase in April, with the pace of growth quickening from an eight-month low in March. Panelists attributed the rise in new orders to greater client demand and the acquisition of new customers.

For further details, see the researcher’s statement on its official website:

https://www.markiteconomics.com/Survey/PressRelease.mvc/fbc0e4d5504849cabaddbaee079058d3

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