PMI: Services activity expands in November but records slight dip

Ahead of MPC meet, data shows input price pressures rise

Activities in services, the dominating sector of India’s economy, expanded in November as restrictions were eased for the tertiary sector, even as the index to measure them dropped marginally from last month.

However, restrictions on international travel caused demand to slacken overseas, showed IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey.

PMI for services dropped moderately to 58.1 in November from a ten-and-a-half-year high of 58.4 in October. In PMI lexicon, a reading above 50 means growth and the one below this mark denotes contraction.

This along with PMI for manufacturing — which hit a 10-month high in November — indicates a robust economic