Russian services activity growth remains marked in April
Staff Writer |
Business activity in the Russian service sector continued to demonstrate marked expansion in April, albeit a slightly weaker growth rate than in March.
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Supporting the expansion of business activity, new orders increased at a strong pace.
Meanwhile, inflationary pressures picked up in April as both input prices and charges increased at faster rates.
Employment grew at a very similar pace to March, helping companies to take on new work and cut levels of outstanding business.
The Markit Russia Services Business Activity Index – a single-figure measure designed to track changes in total Russian services activity – posted 56.1, down from March’s 56.6, indicating slightly weaker growth but a sharp expansion nonetheless.
Business activity grew for the fifteenth month running in April.
Panellists linked expansion to increased demand for products and a higher volume of new business.
Growth of manufacturing production softened substantially in April, reflecting slower growth in new orders.
Consequently, the Russia Composite Output Index (covering both manufacturing and services) posted 55.3, down from 56.3 in March.
New business for service providers in Russia also grew for the fifteenth straight month.
The pace of expansion accelerated from March to the thirdstrongest in the current period of expansion.
Anecdotal evidence stated that business from domestic and foreign markets increased.
Meanwhile, new order growth in the manufacturing sector was the slowest since August last year.
On the price front, service sector input costs rose at the strongest pace since last December, with the rate of inflation accelerating steeply from March.
Higher prices for energy, utilities and transport were commonly cited as reasons for a rise in cost burdens.
Manufacturing input prices also rose at the fastest pace in four months, albeit, at a more muted pace than that seen for service providers.
Average prices charged by Russian service providers rose, in line with the trend shown since December 2009.
The latest survey data signalled the fastest increase in output prices since July last year.
Many respondents stated that increased demand for products had enabled them to raise their prices and offset higher costs.
In comparison, prices charged in the manufacturing sector rose for the first time since January in April, at a modest pace.
Staffing levels among service sector companies increased for the fourth consecutive month in April.
The pace of expansion was little-changed from March and broadly in line with the series average.
Employers stated that rising workloads required larger workforces.
The current sequence of growth in employment is the longest in nearly four years.
In contrast, the goods-producing sector again signalled a contraction in staffing levels. ■