India's private sector services at six-month high in August, revelas HSBC's PMI

India's private sector services business registered the fastest pace of expansion in six months in August, driven by the strongest growth in new business since February and increasingly upbeat sentiment about the future, according a survey today. Meanwhile, China's services sector was down to its slowest pace of growth in a year in August, even though firms hired more workers at higher wages.

The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for services business in India, based on a survey of about 400 private-sector companies, was up at 55.0 in August from 54.2 in July, which marked nearly a year of uninterrupted monthly growth.

Services, including government services like railway transport, contribute around 60 per cent of India's economic output.

Stronger performance there could dampen expectations for more interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India, which is now widely expected to leave them on hold this month.

The new business sub-index was up to a six-month high of 55.9 in August after posting 55.7 in July while optimism for future business picked up, registering its biggest rise since April. Growth is represented by any number above 50.

The Indian economy saw a 5.5 per cent growth in the quarter to June on a year earlier,  government data showed last week, which was slightly better than expected and above the previous quarter's nine-year low of 5.3 per cent.