Russia: Russian services sector sees slower growth in April
The S&P Global Russia Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.5 in April from 51.4 in March, the lowest reading in 15 months. As a result, the index remained above the 50.0 no-change threshold, but signaled a softer improvement in services sector business activity compared to the previous month.
The slowdown in services activity was primarily due to the weakest growth in new orders in over a year. That said, firms reported that they had acquired new customers and higher intakes of work from abroad. Moreover, employment continued to rise, with firms expanding their capacity and reducing backlogs of work for the first time since last July.
Turning to prices, input cost inflation accelerated slightly in April on higher wages plus pricier supplier and advertising costs. That said, selling price growth moderated to the slowest level since early 2021. Lastly, business sentiment remained positive, though optimism dipped to a nine-month low.