New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index stood at 59.9 in November as survey participants remained upbeat towards the year-ahead outlook for output, according to data released by S&P Global on Friday.

The HSBC Flash PMI for November pointed to a further substantial expansion in private sector output across the country.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said that “The HSBC flash manufacturing PMI eased, though the improvement in operating conditions remained healthy.

“The rise in new export orders matched that seen in October. However, overall new orders came in soft, indicating that the GST-led boost may have peaked. Cost pressures eased considerably, and so did prices charged,” Bhandari mentioned.

Registering 59.9 in November, the 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 – remained comfortably above both the neutral mark of 50.0 and its long-run average of 54.9, thereby signalling a strong rate of expansion.

Some manufacturers reported subdued intakes of new business in November. Concurrently, the latest rise in services activity was faster than that recorded in the previous month, said the report.

“Finally, private sector firms in India forecast output growth in the year ahead, supported by competitive pricing strategies, marketing initiatives and capacity expansion efforts in recent months. That said, the overall level of confidence fell to its lowest since mid-2022 during November,” the report noted.

The latest ‘flash’ results showed a widespread cooling of inflationary pressures at manufacturers and service providers. Indian private sector companies signalled an absence of capacity pressures for the second month in a row, with outstanding business volumes decreasing further during November. Only marginal declines were noted at both manufacturing and services firms, however.

—IANS

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