Russian services confidence drops to 40-month low, PMI shows

MOSCOW, May 6 (Reuters) - ‌Russia's services ​sector ​contracted for a second straight month in April as weak client demand led ‌to declines in output and new sales, ⁠while business confidence plumbed a 40-month low, a survey ‌showed on Wednesday.

The S&P ‌Global Russia Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 49.7 in April from 49.5 in March. ​The 50-mark separates growth from contraction.

New business fell after five months of growth, with ⁠the decline the quickest since September 2025. Export orders also dropped ​and at the fastest pace in a year and a half, S&P Global said.

Firms ​cut staffing for a ‌third consecutive month as lower workloads reduced working hours. The pace of job ⁠shedding eased from March but remained among the quickest since January 2023.

Backlogs of work declined for the ⁠first time since September 2025 as companies processed incoming ​sales immediately due to sufficient capacity. Input cost inflation and output charge inflation both cooled further from January's VAT-driven ‌highs.

Business confidence weakened to its lowest since December 2022, though firms still ‌expected activity to rise over the coming year. ⁠S&P Global said hopes ‌for new client ​wins were tempered by customers' financial difficulties.

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Joe ‌Bavier)

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