New Delhi, Aug 5 (KNN) India’s services sector growth fell to 52.2 in July from June’s 17 month high, whereas China’s services sector slowed sharply in July to its lowest level in nearly nine years.

The HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, fell to 52.2 in July from June's 17-month high of 54.4.

“The headline HSBC Composite Output Index posted 53.0 in July, down from June’s 16-month high of 53.8,” said the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index press release.

The latest reading indicated a third successive monthly expansion and was consistent with a modest rise in business activity.

However, the pace of output growth slowed from June and was below the long-run series average. A number of panellists associated rises in activity with improving demand.

Among the six monitored sub-sectors, only Hotels and Restaurants and Transport and Storage companies registered reductions in activity.

Input costs faced by Indian services firms increased for a sixty-fourth consecutive month in July. However, the rate of cost inflation slowed from June and was weaker than the series average.

"Growth in the services sector softened in July after a big jump in the previous month. Nevertheless, the sector recorded its third consecutive month of expansion," said co-head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC, Frederic Neumann.

New business flows and business sentiment have moderated relative to the previous month too, he added.

Meanwhile, growth in China's services sector slowed sharply in July to its lowest level in nearly nine years, according to the survey.

The services PMI compiled by HSBC/Markit fell to 50.0 in July from a 15-month high of 53.1 in June, the lowest reading since November 2005 when the data collection began. (KNN/SD)