Kazakhstan Services Growth At Record High

(RTTNews) - Kazakhstan's service sector activity expanded at a record pace in July amid greater client demand, survey data from Tengri Partners and S&P Global showed on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted services business activity index rose to 54.6 in July from 54.3 in June. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

Further, the latest rate of expansion was the fastest since the survey began in March 2019.

Due to increased domestic demand and new contracts, new business inflows also grew at the fastest rate in almost three-and-a-half years.

Service firms in Kazakhstan reported further declines in their workforces despite higher business activity.

Input price inflation remained sharp in July. The latest rise in input costs was driven by unfavourable movements of the tenge in the market, sanctions against Russia, and general price hikes seen globally.

Data showed that selling prices increased at the softest rate since February.

The composite PMI, which combines manufacturing and services, remained stable at 53.6 in July.