The HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index saw a decline to 51.1, down from 52.6, the in the previous month.

‘Other Services' was the best performing of the six monitored sub-sectors, while the sharpest contraction occurred in Financial Intermediation.

According to the HSBC India Services PMI released today the overall slowdown in activity growth was mirrored by a weaker expansion in service sector new business in December.

The latest increase was the eighth in as many months and moderate overall.

Staffing levels in the Indian service sector increased in December, reversing the trend recorded in the previous month.

However, with the vast majority of surveyed firms reporting no change in employment, the pace of expansion was modest overall.

The rise in service sector payroll numbers more than offset a contraction at goods producers, as employment rose across the private sector overall.

Volumes of outstanding business at Indian service providers continued to rise in December, as has been the case in nine of the past ten months.

That said, the rate of backlog accumulation slowed to the weakest in three months and was marginal overall.

Growth of backlogs also eased across the private sector as a whole.

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