In September, Russia's service sector experienced slower growth, attributed to weaker demand, as revealed in the latest survey from S&P Global. The services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) decreased to 50.5, down from 52.3 in August. It's worth noting that a PMI above 50 signifies expansion.
Although there was continued expansion due to increased new order inflows, customer demand showed signs of softening. New orders rose for the third consecutive month, but the growth rate has decelerated since August. Consequently, employment growth also slowed, marking the slowest increase in the past seven months.
On the pricing side, input price inflation intensified, driven by higher wage costs and rising supplier prices, prompting Russian service providers to increase their selling prices.
Looking forward, companies maintain confidence in their output expectations for the upcoming year, bolstered by planned investments in advertising and anticipated rise in new orders.
The composite output index dropped to 49.4 in September from 52.1 in August, signaling a renewed contraction in private sector business activity.
