PMI – Services PMI climbs to 50.0 in December: signs of recovery but risk of further decline remains

• The purchasing managers’ index for services (Services PMI) rose 2.1 points in December 2011 to 50.9, up from 48.8 in November. This is the first time since September that the index has landed in the growth zone, which suggests that the economic contraction observed during the fall has leveled off.
• The index for new orders accounted for the largest positive contribution to the PMI, followed by employment and supplier delivery times. The index for order backlogs remained below the 50 mark, however, which casts some doubt on the notion that the order scenario for service companies is improving. Growth in employment in service companies has been significantly slower than during the first half of 2011, but has nevertheless had a positive impact on the Swedish labor market.
• Business plans for the next six months have been ratcheted up, which indicates that companies are more optimistic about the economic outlook. That said, order backlogs continue to shrink, which calls into question whether this optimism is
  warranted.
• The index for supplier intermediate goods prices rose to 54.2 in December, which indicates a rise in cost pressure for service companies, marking a break in the downward trend witnessed throughout most of 2011.

Read the PMI - Services index here...

Mer information om indexet kan lämnas av Jörgen Kennemar, tfn 08-5859 7730, jorgen.kennemar@swedbank.se