Services activities shrink in May for the second time in four months: PMI

PMI for services fell to 49.6 in May from 51.4 in April as new business orders stagnated and cost pressures intensified

Even though the economy grew the fastest in seven quarters during the January-March period, services activities of the private sector failed to put up an impressive show. 

The widely-tracked Nikkei purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for services fell below the 50-point mark, indicating a fall in activities for the second time in four months in May.

This also had repercussions in the job markets as hiring grew the slowest this year in May. Interest rates of the services sector firmed up due to oil prices, a signal that could be accounted for by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monetary review