Russian service providers registered a modest expansion in business activity midway in
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Russian goods producers registered a marginal improvement in the health of the sector at the start of 2022.
However, most of the indicators relying on data collected before the Russian military sanctions on
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Russia Services Business Activity Index registered 52.1 in February, up from 49.8 in January, and above the 50.0 no-change mark indicating expansion.
The IHS Markit Russia Composite PMI Output Index (both manufacturing and services) posted 50.8 in February, up slightly from 50.3 in January. "Although output growth was only marginal, it was the fastest since last July, despite a renewed contraction in manufacturing production,"
For the service providers, new business was broadly unchanged in February, as domestic demand weighed on the upturn and new export orders returned to growth. Despite moves towards an improvement in demand conditions, firms continued to cut workforce numbers, and at the quickest pace since
"A number of firms stated that customer activity was picking up again, whereas others highlighted the pandemic's ongoing impact on client demand," the report reads.
Relatively muted demand conditions led to a further fall in employment during February. Waning pressure on capacity resulted in the fastest decline in workforce numbers since
Still, the degree of confidence among service providers prior to the
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