A sister survey on Tuesday showed activity in Russia's manufacturing sector grew for the 12th month running in April and new export orders ended a 14-month sequence of decline, while inflationary pressures regained momentum. (Reporting by Alexander Marrow; editing by John Stonestreet)
May 4 (Reuters) - Growth in domestic client demand
spurred increased activity in Russia's services sector in April
as new export business contracted, a business survey showed on
Thursday, with firms' confidence level rising to its highest
since July.
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Russian
services dropped to 55.9 from a 2-1/2-year high of 58.1 a month
earlier, but remained above the 50 mark that separates expansion
from contraction for the third month running.
The rise was the second fastest since June 2021, driven by a
strong increase in new domestic orders as new export orders fell
for the 13th time in the last 14 months, a trend directly
associated with Russia's decision to send tens of thousands of
troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
"New orders expanded in line with a sustained rise in client
demand and increased customer referrals," S&P Global said.
"Greater client demand supported a further rise in workforce
numbers during April."
"Input costs at service providers increased at a steep rate
in April," S&P Global said, with firms passing those on to
clients, leading the pace of charge inflation to accelerate to
its sharpest since last December.
As hiring and orders picked up, so did hopes for the future.
"Positive expectations reportedly stemmed from planned
investment in facilities and service lines, as well as hopes of
greater client demand and new customer acquisitions," S&P Global
said.
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