Markit says Russia’s Services PMI falls to 49.7 in June

MOSCOW, Jul 3 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.7 in June from 52 in May, decreasing below the 50 no-change mark, which means an overall contraction, research company IHS Markit said in a report on Wednesday.

“Russian service providers signaled the first contraction in business activity and new orders since the start of 2016 in June. Weaker domestic demand, and less robust growth in export business, weighed on output. Consequently, firms reined in their hiring even further, with employment falling at the quickest rate since April 2016,” Markit said quoting Economist Sian Jones.

The Composite Output Index, a weighted average of the Manufacturing Output Index and the Services Business Activity Index, fell to 49.2 in June from 51.5 in May.

Lower business activity stemmed from a drop in new orders in June, the first such decline since early 2016. The decrease was only fractional overall, but signaled a notably turnaround from the moderate expansion seen in May.

New export orders rose for the ninth month running, albeit at only a marginal rate. External demand continued to outperform the domestic market despite the rate of growth in international sales easing to an eight month low.

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