Survey data from S&P Global has indicated a rapid expansion of India's service sector in January, the fastest in six months, driven by strong demand from both domestic and international clients.
The services purchasing managers' index, a measure of the economic health of the sector, rose to 61.8 in January, up from 59.0 in December. Any score above 50 signifies growth in the sector.
The growth was particularly bolstered by new orders from Indian service companies, which experienced the fastest expansion in six months due to positive demand trends and acquiring new clients.
There was also a noteworthy increase in export orders for the month of January, credited to increased client demand worldwide. This includes countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
The increase in outstanding business volumes also worked in favor of job creation in January, leading to the highest employment rate in the past three months.
On the topic of pricing, the rate of input price inflation reached a five-month peak, influenced by the rising costs of food, freight, and salaries. Despite this, the increase in output prices was modest and the slowest it's been in 11 months.
The composite output index, aggregating the output of the Indian private sector, saw a rise to 61.2 in January from 58.5 in December, indicating the most significant upswing in the Indian private sector since the middle of 2023.
