Business activity hits a 3-month high in November despite cost pressures

India's business activity surged to a three-month high of 59.5 in November, driven by rising business gains and export sales, despite increasing cost pressures, a private survey released on Friday said.

The HSBC Flash India Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, was up from October's reading of 59.1 and remained above the long-term average.

The composite output index is a weighted average of the comparable manufacturing and services PMI indices.


It was at 57.4 in November 2023.

"Services saw a pick-up in growth while the manufacturing sector managed to outperform expectations despite a marginal slowdown from its October final PMI reading," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.

Expansion in new orders and output was higher in manufacturing firms than services, the survey highlighted. Growth in international sales was also slightly higher in manufacturing firms than services.

"Panel members cited gains from across the globe, including Asia, Europe and the Americas," the survey mentioned.

Employment growth in the service sector was the fastest since December 2005, it said.

While the manufacturing PMI was marginally down from 57.5 in October to 57.3 in November, services PMI climbed to a three-month high of 59.2.

Meanwhile, private companies faced increasing pressure as backlogs in business volumes grew at the quickest pace since May. Cost pressures also rose in November, reaching their highest level since August 2023.

"Price pressures are rising for raw materials used by manufacturers, as well as food and wage costs in the services sector," said Bhandari.

While manufacturers reported cost hikes in raw materials such as aluminium, cotton, leather and rubber, services firms noted a hike in food prices, including cooking oils, eggs, meat and vegetables, and wage bills.

These rising costs prompted companies to increase selling charges. "The rate of inflation was sharp and the fastest in just under 12 years," the survey said. Strong demand allowed firms to pass on these to clients, it noted.