April Services Activity Slumps To 7-Month Low As Elections Weigh

India's service sector for the April month witnessed the slowest growth in 7 months as election outcome worries led several companies to postpone their business decisions as well as expansion plans.

April Nikkei IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51 as against 52 in the previous month, remaining above the 50 marks however for the 11th straight month.

"Although the Indian private sector economy looks to be settling into a weaker growth phase, much of the slowdown was linked to disruptions arising from the elections and companies generally foresee improvements once a government is formed," Pollyanna De Lima, principal economist at IHS Markit, said.

results for the Lok Sabha elections are due to be announced on May 23 after the last seventh polling phase end on May 19.

A sub-index measuring new business was dragged to a 7-month low of 51.2 in April after companies increased prices at a sharp but modest rate.

That brought down the composite PMI to its lowest in seven months at 51.7.

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