Spain's services sustained its robust growth momentum in August, exceeding economists' expectations, helped by further sharp rises in activity and new business, survey results from Markit Economics showed Thursday.
The purchasing managers' index for the Spanish services sector revealed a score of 59.6, broadly unchanged from July's 59.7. Economists had expected a lower reading of 59.3.
A PMI score above 50 suggests expansion in the sector, which has now expanded for 22 months in a row.
Surveyed firms indicated that success in securing new customers had been a key factor behind the latest rise in activity.
New business rose sharply, climbing for the 25th month running, amid stronger client confidence. Consequently, firms boosted employment for the eleventh straight month, though the pace of job creation was the slowest since April.
"We finally saw an easing off in the rate of job creation after it had accelerated in eight successive months, but the improvements in new work that have been recorded throughout the past couple of years are still translating into improvements in the labor market," Markit economist Andrew Harker said.
Input price inflation was the slowest in four months, as lower fuel costs helped offset high staff costs. Output price inflation slowed as competitive pressures curbed firms' ability to raise prices.
Though services firms retained their positive sentiment in August, the degree of optimism dipped from the previous month and was the weakest since August 2013, the survey said.
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