ROME – Italy’s services sector contracted in July for the first time since January as new business fell and inflationary pressures rose, a survey showed on Wednesday.
S&P Global’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services declined to 48.4 in July from 51.6 in June, slipping below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
The result was below the median forecast of 50.1 in a Reuters survey of 14 analysts.
The subindex for new business in the service sector stood at 48.7 in July compared with 52.3 in June.
Italy’s manufacturing PMI, released on Monday, showed the sector contracted in July for the first time in more than two years amid a sharp decline in factory production.
The composite Purchasing Managers’ Index combining services and manufacturing stood at 47.7 in July, down from 51.3 in June, its first contraction since January 2021.
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On Friday, statistics bureau ISTAT said Italy’s economy grew a faster-than-expected 1.0% in the second quarter of 2022 and 4.6% year-on-year.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, Editing by Hugh Lawson)