World service sector growth strengthens in October
Staff Writer |
October saw the rate of expansion in global services business activity accelerate for the first time in four months.
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At 53.4, the J.P.Morgan Global Services Business Activity Index – a composite index produced by J.P.Morgan and IHS Markit in association with ISM and IFPSM – was up from September’s two-year low of 52.9 and has now signalled growth for 111 straight months.
The upturn remained broad-based by sub-industry, as business activity rose across the business, consumer and financial services sectors.
Rates of expansion improved in the first two, but slowed to a five-month low in the latter.
Despite the acceleration, the consumer services category saw the slowest growth for the fifth month running.
Italy was the only nation covered by the survey to register a decline in business activity during October.
The fastest rates of increase were seen in Ireland (albeit a sevenmonth low) and Russia (11-month high).
Growth strengthened in the US (two-month high), Japan (sixmonth high), and India (three-month high).
Brazil returned to expansion following back-to-back contractions in August and September.
Rates of output growth slowed in the euro area (21-month low), China (13-month low), the UK (seven-month low) and Australia (slowest in the two-and-a-half-year survey history).
Among the nations that saw expansions in October, the weakest growth was registered in China and Brazil.
Global service sector new business increased at a solid pace in October.
New order growth was unchanged from September’s three-month high, but still modest compared to the first half of the year.
Backlogs of work continued to rise, encouraging firms to take on additional staff.
Job creation has been registered in each month since March 2010, with the latest rate of increase above the average for that sequence.
Employment rose in all of the nations covered by the survey.
October saw a mild pick-up in the rate of input price inflation to its highest since June 2011.
Cost increases accelerated (on average) in developed nations, but eased slightly in emerging markets.
Output charge inflation remained close to September’s series-record high in October.
The average rate of increase in selling prices across developed nations continued to exceed that of emerging markets. ■