Services Growth in March Moderates

INDIA'S SERVICES SECTOR growth moderated in March as demand softened, even as firms raised prices at the slowest pace in three-and-a-half years, according to a survey by HSBC Holdings.

- FE BUREAU

Registering 58.5 in March, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index—based on a single question asking how the level of business activity compares with the situation the month before—was comfortably above the neutral mark of 50 and indicated a sharp rate of expansion. Although below February's reading of 59, the headline index remained above its long-run average of 54.2.

"Domestic and international demand remained fairly buoyant, despite being sequentially a tick lower than the month before," noted Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.