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6 May 2015
German service sector slows down in April
FXStreet (Mumbai) - The seasonally adjusted final Markit Germany Services Business Activity Index for April at 54.0, down from March’s 55.4. The rate of growth was the slowest since January.
The new orders with German service providers also rose at a robust, albeit weaker rate in April. Meanwhile, employment levels in Germany’s service sector rose for the eighteenth successive month in April.
Input costs rose further in April, with the rate of inflation rising for the third straight month and was the highest in almost a year. This also led to a rise in the service charges.
As per Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit and the author of the report, “German service sector output continued to expand at a robust rate, despite rising at the weakest rate since January. Companies attributed the increase in activity to a further strengthening in demand. However, services employment growth slowed to the weakest in just over a year, with companies commenting on negative effects of Germany’s first ever national minimum wage which was introduced at the start of the year.”
The new orders with German service providers also rose at a robust, albeit weaker rate in April. Meanwhile, employment levels in Germany’s service sector rose for the eighteenth successive month in April.
Input costs rose further in April, with the rate of inflation rising for the third straight month and was the highest in almost a year. This also led to a rise in the service charges.
As per Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit and the author of the report, “German service sector output continued to expand at a robust rate, despite rising at the weakest rate since January. Companies attributed the increase in activity to a further strengthening in demand. However, services employment growth slowed to the weakest in just over a year, with companies commenting on negative effects of Germany’s first ever national minimum wage which was introduced at the start of the year.”