Services PMI rises to over a decade high of 58.4 in October

Inflation at six-month high keeps business confidence muted but companies generate highest employment since pre-Covid period of February 2020

Activities in services, the biggest sector in India’s economy, accelerated to a 10-and-a-half-year high in October. This comes even as companies increased prices of their final products due to costly raw materials, showed IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey.

Unlike their manufacturing counterparts, services companies hired more hands, resulting in job generation reaching the highest level after the pre-Covid period of February 2020.

The index rose to 58.4 in October from 55.2 in September, which clearly signalled that the third quarter of the current fiscal year may witness high economic growth. PMI numbers, both for manufacturing and services, are the