Russia’s services sector stabilises in August, PMI shows

Activity in Russia’s services sector stabilised in August after two months of decline, with firms increasing hiring despite subdued demand, a business survey showed on Wednesday.

The S&P Global Russia Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.0 in August from 48.6 in July, signalling no change in output levels midway through the third quarter.

New orders fell for a second month, though only marginally, with companies citing weak financial conditions and customer caution. Employment, however, rose at the fastest pace since February as firms sought to boost capacity ahead of anticipated sales growth.

Input costs increased at the joint-slowest pace in more than five years, helped by favourable exchange rate movements, but output charge inflation accelerated to one of the quickest rates since January as firms passed on expenses to clients.

Business confidence in future activity remained positive but slipped to its second-lowest level since July 2023, below the survey’s long-run average.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser