Russia's services sector expansion slows in February, PMI shows

(Reuters) - Russia's services sector saw its slowest growth in six months in February, a business survey showed on Wednesday, as new order growth slowed.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index for Russian services fell to 50.5 in February from 54.6 in January, indicating a marginal expansion in output. A reading above 50 signals growth in activity, while below 50 indicates contraction.

The deceleration in activity was attributed to a slower rise in new orders, which grew at the weakest pace in seven months.

Despite the slowdown, service firms continued to hire, with employment growth accelerating to the second-fastest rate since last August, driven by both full and part-time staff recruitment.

"The upturn in workforce numbers was in part driven by evidence of pressure on capacity at services firms," S&P Global said.

While new order growth eased, export business continued to show strong expansion for the fourth month running.

Despite the tempered growth, Russian service providers remained optimistic about future activity.

"Optimism among companies was reportedly underpinned by hopes of greater customer interest and new client wins," S&P Global said.

A sister survey this week showed that activity in Russia's manufacturing sector grew only slightly in February as overall demand stagnated.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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