Services growth slows to more than 2-yr low in Jan

The slowdown came owing to lower demand, softer rise in sales and output

- Rhik Kundu

NEW DELHI: India's service sector expanded at its slowest pace in more than two years during January, owing to lower demand and a softer increase in sales and output, a private survey released on Wednesday said.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 56.5 in January, its lowest since November 2022, but comfortably above the 50-point threshold that distinguishes expansion from contraction. The index stood at 59.3 in December, 58.4 in November, 58.5 in October, and 57.7 in September.

According to the survey, a few firms suggested that activity levels at their units were constrained by a fall in customer numbers. However, service providers in India were confident of a rise in business activity in the coming 12 months, it added.