Russia surprised markets on Wednesday morning as it reported its fastest growth in the service sector in 20 months.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index covering services rose to 51.6 in July, above last month’s reading and expectations for this month. Anything above 50 indicates expansion.
However, a composite reading of services and manufacturing stands at 50.9 as manufacturing continues to struggle.
In the report Markit said: “The Russian service sector returned to modest growth during July, with activity rising on the back of the strongest gain in new business for over a year-and-a-half.
“Still, excess capacity remained a problem, with companies again comfortably able to make inroads into their work outstanding despite cutting jobs for a seventeenth month in succession.”
