Russian Services Activity Stabilizes In August

(RTTNews) - The Russian service sector logged stagnation in August after back-to-back contractions, survey results from S&P Global showed on Wednesday.

The services purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to 50.0 in August from 48.6 in July. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction, while a score above 50 suggests expansion in the sector.

New orders continued to fall in August, though fractionally. The overall decrease was attributed to challenging financial conditions and customer hesitancy.

Employment grew at the fastest pace in six months as firms sought to boost capacity amid anticipated expansions in sales in the coming months.

On the price front, input price inflation eased in August due to favorable exchange rate movements. Meanwhile, output price inflation rose for the second straight month.

Looking ahead, service providers remained confident about expected business activity over the coming year, as hopes of stronger demand conditions and expansion into new markets underpinned positive sentiment.

The composite output index rose to 49.1 in August from 47.8 in July, indicating a softer downturn in activity at Russian private sector companies.