FGM - Germany Services PMI revised slightly lower to 53.7 in March as growth picks up and spurred job creation

2023-04-05 04:10:25 ET

• The S&P Global Germany Services PMI was revised slightly lower to 53.7 in March of 2023 from a preliminary estimate of 53.9, but continued to point to the strongest growth in the services sector since May last year.
• The rise was supported by a strengthening of underlying demand, with new business rising for a second month, which in turn fuelled a pick-up in job creation as pressure on business capacity increased.
• There was also a cooling of rates of both input cost and output charge inflation although they still remained elevated by historical standards, in part reflecting rising wage demands across the sector.
• Looking ahead, service expectations were little changed, staying well below the level prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• Phil Smith, Economic Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "With the improvement in demand in March came a pick-up in hiring activity across the service sector, which will likely fuel concerns about wage pressures in the economy and the implications for inflation. Price increases in the service sector are easing, but even so the rate of inflation remained stubbornly high in March, pointing to persistently strong core price pressures and the potential for yet more interest rate rises."
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