Russia: Services PMI edges up in January
The IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 49.8 in January from December’s 49.5. As a result, the index remained below the 50-threshold, signaling a continued, albeit softer, deterioration in business conditions from the previous month.
The slight improvement was led by a softer contraction in new orders, which fell at the least pronounced pace in three months, amid healthier domestic demand which more than offset plunging export orders. That said, still-weak demand conditions and falling backlogs of work drove the largest decrease in workforce numbers among services firms in over a year. Meanwhile, despite cooling cost inflation, output charges rose at the fastest rate in eight months.
Meanwhile, the Composite PMI ticked up to 50.3 in January from 50.2 in December, suggesting that overall private sector conditions continued to improve at a marginal rate at the outset of this year.