India's flash composite PMI rises to 56.7 in October, the fastest growth since June, as export orders pick up and price pressures ease

Fifty-six point seven. That is where the HSBC flash India composite PMI, compiled by S&P Global, put October private sector output, up from 55.9 in September and the fastest expansion since June.

Both sectors picked up. The services business activity index rose to 56.2 from 55.2 and the manufacturing output index to 57.6 from 57.5, while the headline manufacturing PMI dipped to 54.9 from 55.1. New export business grew at the fastest pace in six months, and panel members named the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Bangladesh among their buyers.

Hiring lagged. Employment rose only marginally, the weakest gain this year, as service providers held staff levels flat, ending nine months of job creation, and firms worked down backlogs at the fastest rate since August 2021.

Inflation cooled on both sides of the ledger. Input cost growth slowed for a seventh straight month, to its lowest in almost a year, and output prices rose at the slowest pace since March 2025, with manufacturers' selling prices the softest in almost four years. Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said new export orders for manufacturers rose at the fastest rate since June 2025.