India Services business activity rises to 3-month high

India’s service sector concluded the second fiscal quarter with improved momentum, as enhanced sales underpinned a three-month high in business activity growth. The expansion was characterized by firms noting heightened demand for digital solutions, food, insurance, loans, software, transportation, tours and travel. Favorable demand dynamics also bolstered another increase in employment, although job creation moderated from August levels. Concurrently, inflationary headwinds diminished. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 54.1 in August to 55.2 in September, indicating the most robust upturn since June but proving insufficient to elevate the quarterly average beyond the level recorded in the prior period. In actuality, growth throughout the second fiscal quarter represented the slowest pace since the three months ending March 2022.