India’s private sector activity continued to expand sharply in December, though at the weakest pace in ten months amid softer growth seen across both the manufacturing and service sectors, flash survey results from S&P Global showed on Tuesday.
The HSBC flash composite output index dropped to 58.9 in December from 59.7 in November. However, a score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
Factory activity logged the slowest improvement in two years as the Manufacturing PMI declined to 55.7 in December from 56.6 in November.
The growth in the services economy moderated at the end of the year as the Services Purchasing Managers’ Index declined to 59.1 in December from 59.8 in the previous month.
New orders received across the Indian private sector continued to increase strongly on the back of improving customer demand. Nonetheless, the overall rate of growth eased. New export orders grew at the fastest pace in three months amid more demand from key export markets, including Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, the UK, and the US.
The employment levels are broadly unchanged compared to November, with the fractional increase in workforce numbers being the least marked since February 2024.
On the price front, inflationary pressures remained muted in December as both input and output prices increased modestly.
Looking ahead, companies remained confident that growth will be maintained, but the positive sentiment eased to the lowest since July 2022. The fall in confidence was evident in the service sector as manufacturing optimism ticked up from the previous survey period.
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