Markit says Russia’s Services PMI rises to 52.1 in August

MOSCOW, Sep 4 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) grew to 52.1 in August from 50.4 in July, remaining above the 50 no-change mark, which means an overall expansion, research company IHS Markit said in a report on Wednesday.

Although only moderate overall, the pace of expansion was the fastest for four months. Supporting the upturn was a stronger increase in new business and a renewed rise in new export orders.

“The Russian service sector registered an acceleration in business activity growth in August, with a faster increase in new orders driving the expansion. External demand also rebounded, despite signaling only a fractional upturn in new export orders,” Sian Jones, economist at IHS Markit, commented on the survey.

The Russia Composite Output Index, a weighted average of the Russia Manufacturing Output Index and the Russia Services Business Activity Index, rose to 51.5 in August from 50.2 in July.

“At the composite level, data indicated a renewed upturn in new business, despite difficulties in the manufacturing sector. That said, overall output growth was only weak by historical standards and well below the rates of expansion seen at the start of 2019.”

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