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(Correcting the manufacturing PMI was released on Tuesday this week.)
Service providers in Ireland reported the fastest growth in new business in six years, as overall business activity hit a four-month high in February, according to survey results released by IHS Markit on Thursday.
The AIB services business activity index jumped to 61.8 points in February from 56.2 in January, as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in Ireland. The reading was the highest in four months and well above the long-run average of 55.0 points. The month-on-month acceleration in growth was the sharpest on record, IHS Markit said.
The strong services score lifted the AIB Ireland composite purchasing managers' index to 59.1 in February from 56.1 in January, overcoming a decline in the factory sector reading.
On Tuesday, IHS Markit had said the manufacturing PMI score was 57.8 points last month, down from 59.4 in January.
‘Most notable in the Irish survey was the sharp acceleration in the growth of new business, including exports, with improving economic conditions as the pandemic waned, boosting demand for services. This was evident across all four sub-sectors covered in the survey. Financial and business services registered the strongest growth in business activity in February,’ commented AIB Chief Economist Oliver Mangan.
The services PMI was compiled from responses to a survey sent to 400 service sector companies. The responses were collected between February 10 and 23.
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