Markit says Russia’s Services PMI rises to 54.1 in January

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) grew to 54.1 in January from 53.1 in December 2019, remaining above the 50 no-change mark, which means an overall expansion, research company IHS Markit said in a report on Wednesday.

“The IHS Markit Russia Services Business Activity Index – a single-figure measure designed to track changes in total Russian services activity – posted 54.1 at the start of 2020, up from 53.1 in December, to signal a solid expansion in business activity across the Russian service sector,” the report said.

The rate of growth was only slightly below the long-run series trend, since 2001. Anecdotal evidence attributed the rise in output to a further increase in client demand and new customer acquisitions.

New business received by Russian service providers rose at a solid pace in January, despite the rate of expansion easing to a four-month low. Where an increase was reported, companies linked this to more favorable domestic and foreign demand conditions.

The Russia Composite Output Index, a weighted average of the Russia Manufacturing Output Index and the Russia Services Business Activity Index, rose to 52.6 in January from 51.8 in December.

“Although less upbeat regarding future business activity growth, service providers registered a stronger increase in output in January. Nevertheless, underlying data signaled challenging demand conditions, less motivation to expand workforce numbers and a decline in charges amid efforts to stay competitive,” Sian Jones, economist at IHS Markit, commented on the survey.

“The Russian private sector continued to grow in the opening month of 2020, with firms registering a more robust expansion in business activity. The upturn was only moderate, however, with the manufacturing sector still lingering in contraction territory. As such, we are forecasting economic growth to ease to 1.25% in the opening three months of the year compared to the same period in 2019.”

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