Growth in Services sector : PMI Survey

Why in the news ?
  • As per the PMI survey,  business activity in service sector witnessed the strongest growth since October 2016, amid improved demand conditions.
Details
  • The Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.6 in June to
  • 54.2 in July, as new business rose at the fastest pace since June 2017.
  • Amid reports of improved demand conditions, business confidence towards the 12­month outlook picked up from June’s recent low. 
  • Subsequently, firms raised their staffing levels at the strongest pace since April. 
  • The Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index, that maps both the manufacturing and services sectors, rose from 53.3 in June to 54.1 in July.
    Inflation concern :
  • There are some warning signs reflected by PMI price data. 
  • Although overall input cost inflation softened from June’s near four ­year high, service companies faced the fastest rise in input costs since March amid reports of high oil prices.
  • An uncertain global climate, currency weakness and strong inflation may continue to place pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates over the coming months
What is PMI index ?
  • PMI or a Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is an indicator of business activity - both in the manufacturing and services sectors. 
  • It is a survey-based measures that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before.
  • It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is constructed. 
  • A figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity. Anything below 50 denotes contraction. Higher the difference from this mid-point greater the expansion or contraction.
Source
The Hindu.



Posted by Jawwad Kazi on 4th Aug 2018