In May, the activity within Russia's services sector maintained robust expansion, spurred by strengthened output growth and steady, strong domestic customer demand, as per the survey results from S&P Global released on Monday.
The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) ticked up to 54.4 in May from 54.3 in April, with any reading above 50 signifying sectoral expansion.
Output saw the second-quickest growth since January 2017, propelled by vigorous demand conditions and a consistent monthly rise in new sales.
Although the growth pace of new orders has decelerated since January, May's growth rate remained significant. The overall expansion was fueled by elevated advertising expenditure, new client acquisitions, and sustained demand. In contrast, new export orders remained weak.
Responding to strong demand, Russian manufacturers increased their staffing, with job creation hitting its fastest rate in over twenty-six years.
In terms of pricing, input price inflation reached a five-month peak in May, driven by higher transportation and supplier costs. Consequently, selling price inflation was at its highest in four months.
Vendor performance deteriorated in May due to logistics delays. Nonetheless, confidence among goods producers about growth prospects remained positive, despite a slip in business confidence to a nine-month low.
