Brazil services sector deepens drop in August

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Activity in Brazil's services sector deepened its downturn in August as new business fell for the 18th straight month, a private survey showed on Monday, although slowing job losses and easing inflation provided some relief for a struggling economy.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Brazilian services , compiled by research firm Markit, fell on a seasonally adjusted basis to 42.7 in August from 45.6 in July. The 50 mark of the index separates contraction from expansion.

The deeper contraction along with an ongoing manufacturing slump dragged Markit's Composite Index to 44.4 in August from 46.4 in July.

Financial intermediation was the only one of six service categories that did not post slower activity in the month.

The rate of job losses and input price increases eased to the slowest since January.

Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli

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