<p>Services sector activity in India expanded in December, but at a slower pace as firms received lesser number of new orders as compared to the previous month, a monthly HSBC survey said today.<br /><br />In November, the sector had recorded fastest pace of expansion in five months.<br />The HSBC India Services Business Activity Index, which tracks changes in activity at Indian services companies on a month-by-month basis, stood at 51.1 in December -- down from 52.6 in the previous month, indicating a moderate expansion in business activity in December.<br /><br />A score above 50 indicates that the sector is expanding, while a figure below that level means contraction.<br /><br />"Both activity and new orders in India's services sector expanded in December, though at lower rates compared with November," HSBC Chief India Economist Pranjul Bhandari said.<br /><br />Within the services sector activity, all but the financial intermediation sub-sector saw an expansion in order books.<br /><br />"In our view, growth in financial intermediation is key for funding a meaningful pick-up in economic growth," Bhandari added.<br /><br />Meanwhile, staffing levels in the Indian service sector increased in December, reversing the trend recorded in the previous month.<br /><br />Business confidence strengthened in December, despite slowdowns in growth of activity and new orders. The degree of positive sentiment among Indian service providers was robust overall, HSBC said.</p>.<p><br />Meanwhile, the headline HSBC Composite Output Index -- that maps manufacturing as well as services sectors output -- stood at 52.9 in December, down from 53.6 in November.<br /><br />Private sector activity in India witnessed the 8th consecutive month of growth and was mainly driven by manufacturing output, which rose at the quickest pace in two years in December.<br /><br />On price rise, Bhandari said that "inflationary pressures from both input and output prices remained modest".<br /><br />RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, during the last monetary policy review in December 2014, kept interest rate unchanged, saying that a shift in stance is 'premature' but hinted that a cut may come in early 2015 if inflation continues to ease and government acts on the fiscal side.<br /><br />Accordingly, the repo rate continues to be at 8 per cent while the cash reserve ratio has also been retained at 4 per cent. </p>
<p>Services sector activity in India expanded in December, but at a slower pace as firms received lesser number of new orders as compared to the previous month, a monthly HSBC survey said today.<br /><br />In November, the sector had recorded fastest pace of expansion in five months.<br />The HSBC India Services Business Activity Index, which tracks changes in activity at Indian services companies on a month-by-month basis, stood at 51.1 in December -- down from 52.6 in the previous month, indicating a moderate expansion in business activity in December.<br /><br />A score above 50 indicates that the sector is expanding, while a figure below that level means contraction.<br /><br />"Both activity and new orders in India's services sector expanded in December, though at lower rates compared with November," HSBC Chief India Economist Pranjul Bhandari said.<br /><br />Within the services sector activity, all but the financial intermediation sub-sector saw an expansion in order books.<br /><br />"In our view, growth in financial intermediation is key for funding a meaningful pick-up in economic growth," Bhandari added.<br /><br />Meanwhile, staffing levels in the Indian service sector increased in December, reversing the trend recorded in the previous month.<br /><br />Business confidence strengthened in December, despite slowdowns in growth of activity and new orders. The degree of positive sentiment among Indian service providers was robust overall, HSBC said.</p>.<p><br />Meanwhile, the headline HSBC Composite Output Index -- that maps manufacturing as well as services sectors output -- stood at 52.9 in December, down from 53.6 in November.<br /><br />Private sector activity in India witnessed the 8th consecutive month of growth and was mainly driven by manufacturing output, which rose at the quickest pace in two years in December.<br /><br />On price rise, Bhandari said that "inflationary pressures from both input and output prices remained modest".<br /><br />RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, during the last monetary policy review in December 2014, kept interest rate unchanged, saying that a shift in stance is 'premature' but hinted that a cut may come in early 2015 if inflation continues to ease and government acts on the fiscal side.<br /><br />Accordingly, the repo rate continues to be at 8 per cent while the cash reserve ratio has also been retained at 4 per cent. </p>