RTTNews | May 5, 2021 06:25AM EDT

06:24 Wednesday, May 5, 2021 (RTTNews.com) - India's service sector activity expanded at a softer pace in April, survey results from IHS Markit showed on Wednesday.

The IHS Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.0 in April from 54.6 in March.

Economists had forecast a score of 51.1. Any reading above 50.0 indicates expansion in the sector.

Output and new work increased in April. The rate of new business remained unchanged from March.

The 12-month outlook for business activity weakened to the lowest since October last year.

The overall rate of input cost inflation was the strongest seen in nearly nine-and-a-half years and selling prices increased.

The number of payroll declined for the fifth month in a row in April and outstanding business increased.

New export orders decreased for the fourteenth straight month in April.

The survey showed that the composite output index, which combines services and manufacturing output, fell to 55.4 in April from 56.0 in the prior month.

"The PMI results for April showed a more resilient economic performance for the service sector than expected given the escalation of the Covid-19 crisis in India," Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at IHS Markit, said.

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