MADRID, March 3 (Reuters) - Activity in the Spanish
services sector grew at its fastest pace in 10 months in
February, its fourth straight month of expansion, spurred by
higher demand even though inflationary pressures remained a
concern, a survey showed on Friday.
S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Spain's
services sector, which accounts for around half of Spanish
economic output, rose to 56.7 last month from 52.7 in January,
well above the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction.
"Expansions in activity and new business were sharp and the
fastest in 10 and 15 months, respectively, while employment
growth was sustained for a fifth consecutive month," S&P
Global's economist Laura Denman said.
Although respondents were strongly upbeat about output over
the next 12 months, with the degree of confidence at its highest
in a year, she said it was "difficult not to be wary about the
longevity of the current sector trajectory" due to stubbornly
high input price and output charge inflation.
A sister survey of Spanish factory activity in February,
released on Wednesday, showed an expansion for the first time
since June as demand started to improve.
Still, Spain's economic growth is expected to slow down this
year to around 1.4%-1.6% from the stronger-than-expected
expansion rate of 5.5% recorded in 2022.
(Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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