India's business activity grows strongly in September

The headline HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors dipped to 59.3 in September from 60.7 in August.

The index pointed to another rapid monthly increase in business activity, albeit one that was the least pronounced in 2024 so far. Softer expansions were seen across both the manufacturing and services sectors.

The latest HSBC flash PMI survey, compiled by S&P Global, signaled ongoing strong growth across the Indian private sector during September, although both output and new orders rose at the slowest rates in 2024 so far.

 

Meanwhile, employment continued to rise solidly amid improved business confidence. Rates of both input cost and output price inflation were relatively muted, with service providers raising their charges at the slowest pace in just over two-and-a-half years.

The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI a single-figure snapshot of factory business conditions calculated from measures of new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times and stocks of purchases posted 56.7 in September, down from 57.5 in August.

The reading signaled a further marked strengthening in business conditions for goods producers, but the rate of improvement was the softest since January.

Helping firms to keep up with demand was a further solid expansion of staffing levels, with the rate of job creation ticking up from that seen in August and remaining above the series average.

The pace of input cost inflation in the Indian private sector remained relatively muted in September, despite rising slightly from that seen in August. The rate of output price inflation remained similarly muted in the latest survey period, coming in just below the series average.

Despite the softer expansions in both output and new orders in September, companies in India remained strongly optimistic that business activity will increase over the coming year.

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