Growth in services sector slows for second month

The growth in business activity within the country’s services-related industries slowed for the second consecutive month in March, according to fresh data published yesterday.

While the services sector continued to grow in March — as noted by the latest edition of the monthly Services PMI (purchasing managers’ index) from NCB Stockbrokers — it remains highly dependent on new export business, which expanded for the 20th consecutive month in March.

The latest PMI for the sector showed a reading of 52.3 points — comfortably above the neutral 50-point mark, which separates a sector in decline from one in growth mode; but down from 53.6 points in February and 56.8 points in January.