Customers sit as a waiter carries pizzas out of the kitchen at a Pizza Hut restaurant in Mumbai, March 29, 2011. REUTERS
BENGALURU, April 6 (Reuters) – India’s services sector grew at its weakest pace in 14 months in March as the Middle East war dampened domestic demand, a survey showed on Monday, though overseas orders hit a near record while input cost pressures were at their most intense since mid-2022.
Here are the key details:
• The final HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by S&P Global, fell to 57.5 in March from February’s 58.1, but was higher than a preliminary estimate of 57.2.
• New business – a key gauge for demand – rose at the slowest pace since January 2025 with firms citing competition, difficult market dynamics and fading domestic demand.
• Business activity was constrained by the impact of the Middle East war on demand, market conditions and tourism, according to survey respondents.
• Growth in foreign orders climbed to the second-highest since the index was added to the survey in September 2014, topped only by June 2024.
• Input costs rose at the fastest pace in 45 months.
• Prices charged to clients climbed at the quickest rate in seven months but lagged cost inflation by the widest margin in close to three years. Services firms transferred part of their additional cost burdens to clients but continued to absorb some of it, the survey showed.
• Employment expanded for a third straight month and at the strongest pace since June 2025 as business confidence strengthened to its highest in nearly 12 years. Firms were optimistic about improving demand and market conditions.
• The slowdown in services, combined with manufacturing growth hitting a near-four-year low, pushed the overall Composite PMI to 57.0 in March from 58.9, marking the weakest expansion in nearly three-and-a-half years.
Reporting by Anant Chandak Editing by Shri Navaratnam