Services sector shrinks for third successive month in July

Services PMI at 45.4 offsets manufacturing rebound, private sector jobs decline for 17th straight month

India’s services sector contracted for the third month in a row in July, with fresh job losses for the eighth successive month, as per the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) which stood at 45.4 in the month, marginally better than the 41.2 recorded in June. A score of 50 on the index indicates no change in activity. For the first time in a year, services firms had a pessimistic outlook for the coming 12-month period, driven by worries about the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and profit margins. Consumer services was the worst-affected sector during July, indicating that the unlocking across States has failed to lift confidence in the resumption of contact-sensitive activity, while transport and storage was the only sector to see higher sales in the past month.