Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
Ireland’s service sector extended its winning streak to almost three-and-a-half years, but the pace of expansion ebbed last month, numbers on Tuesday showed.
The AIB services business activity index faded to 53.6 points in July, from 54.2 in June. Falling closer to the 50 mark which separates growth from the decline, the data suggests the Irish service sector grew at a slow pace last month.
‘The pace of expansion was slightly below the trend for 2024 so far (53.9), and even weaker than the long-run series average since 2000 (55.1). The current expansionary sequence was extended to three years and five months, although the rate of growth has weakened three times in the past four months,’ S&P Global said.
‘Demand for services in Ireland continued to rise in July, extending the current sequence of demand growth that began in March 2021. New business was linked to new customers, new projects and acquisitions. Moreover, the rate of growth accelerated in the latest period, returning to the long-run trend.’
Sentiment among service providers for the year ahead hit the strongest level since February, S&P Global.
The composite purchasing managers’ index reading, which also factors in last week’s manufacturing data, picked up to 52.2 points in July from 50.1 in June.
‘The resumption in growth reflected a renewed rise in manufacturing production,’ S&P Global said.
The headline AIB Ireland manufacturing PMI posted 50.1 in July, numbers on Thursday showed, up from 47.4 in June
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.