Markit says Russia’s Services PMI falls to 52.0 in May

MOSCOW, Jun 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 52.0 in May from 52.6 in April, remaining above the 50 no-change mark, which means an overall expansion, research company IHS Markit said in a report on Tuesday.

“May survey data signaled a moderate rise in business activity across the Russian service sector. The upturn was the slowest since May 2016 amid signs of softer domestic demand conditions and only a modest increase in new business. New export orders grew at a strong rate, however. The slower rise in new orders contributed to the first fall in employment since last September, as backlogs of work continued to decrease,” Markit said.

The Composite Output Index, a weighted average of the Manufacturing Output Index and the Services Business Activity Index, fell to 51.5 in May from 53.0 in April. Expansion across the private sector slowed down due to lower output growth in the manufacturing and service sectors. The rate of increase was the slowest since May 2016, the report read.

“Output growth across the Russian service sector continued to ease in May, with the upturn slowing to the softest for three years. Although the expansion in export orders remained strong, domestic demand struggled to keep up, with total new business increasing only modestly. In turn, service providers shed workforce numbers for the first time since last September, with many linking this to increased redundancies and lackluster domestic demand,” Markit said quoting Economic Sian Jones.

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