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

MOSCOW, Mar 3 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) grew to 52.1 in February from 49.8 in January, rising above the 50 no-change mark, which signals an overall expansion of activity in the sector, researcher IHS Markit said in a statement on Thursday.

“Russian service providers registered a modest expansion in business activity midway through the opening quarter of 2022. The rise in output followed four months of contraction and was the fastest since last July. Although not in growth territory, new business was broadly unchanged in February. Domestic demand weighed on the upturn, as new export orders returned to growth. Despite moves towards an improvement in demand conditions, firms continued to cut workforce numbers, and at the quickest pace since December 2020,” Markit said.

“Russian service providers registered a pick-up in growth momentum during February, as activity returned to expansion. Although total demand remained historically subdued, firms were buoyed by efforts to invest in new product lines, as business confidence reached the highest since last September,” Sian Jones, Senior Economist at IHS Markit, said.

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