6th May 2025 01:27
(Alliance News) - Ireland's service sector expanded at a slower pace in April amid a slowdown in new business, S&P Global reported on Tuesday.
The AIB Ireland composite purchasing managers' index fell to 54.0 in April, down from 54.6 in March.
A reading above the 50.0 neutral mark indicates an overall increase in business activity from the previous month, while a reading below signals a contraction.
The AIB Ireland services business activity index fell to 52.8 in April from 55.3 in the previous month.
David McNamara, AIB chief economist, said: "The April reading represented the slowest pace of growth since January 2024. The deceleration in activity was against the backdrop of a slowdown in new business. Indeed, the new business index registered its largest monthly fall since January 2021, resulting in only a very modest pace of growth in April.
"From a sectoral perspective, three of the four subsectors recorded a slower pace of growth in April, while Transport, Tourism & Leisure experienced a faster rate of contraction compared to March. Technology, Media & Telecoms (TMT) remained the best performing of the four sub-sectors."
On Thursday, S&P Global reported that the AIB Ireland manufacturing PMI improved to 53.0 in April, up from 51.6 in March, reaching its highest level since June 2022.
S&P Global compiles the PMI figures each month using survey responses from a panel of around 400 service sector companies and 400 manufacturers.
The composite figure is a weighted average of the services business activity index and manufacturing output index.
By Elijah Dale, Alliance News reporter
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