Spanish Services Sector Contracts Further In August

Spanish Services Sector Contracts Further In August


Activity in Spain's service sector decreased for the fourteenth consecutive month in August, though at a slower pace, data from a survey by Markit Economics showed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the service sector rose to 44 in August from 43.7 in July, but remained below the no-change 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
Activity fell for the fourteenth successive month, but the rate of contraction was the weakest since March.
New orders at Spanish services companies decreased further as clients were reluctant to commit to new projects given the crisis in the domestic economy. Employment in the sector dropped further during the month, extending the current sequence of job cuts to four-and-a-half years.
Input prices rose for the fifth time in the past six months, and at the fastest pace since July 2011, owing mainly to an increase in fuel costs. Firms, meanwhile, lowered their output prices for the forty-ninth consecutive month.

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