Kazakhstan saw a fresh rise in service sector activity in September as underlying demand trends brightened after faltering in August, according to purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data released by Freedom Holding Corp and S&P Global on October 3.

Kazakh service firms recorded a rise in new business inflows and the upturn fed through to an increase in business activity, which also recovered following a decline in August, according to the survey compilers. The first monthly expansion in services employment since May was recorded.

The seasonally adjusted PMI services index for September rose to 51.1, up from 48.5 in August, indicating modest growth (any reading above 50.0 denotes an expansion in business activity).

Yerlan Abdikarimov, director of financial analysis at Freedom Finance Global, a 100% subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp, commented: "Positive expectations of service providers for September were met, allowing business activity to shift into expansion territory after the unfavourable downturn observed in August. The services sector revived in response to recovering demand and continued easing of inflationary pressures.

“The inflow of new orders is once again showing growth. The rate of employment increase has reached its highest level this year. Service providers continue to feel less pricing pressure compared to manufacturers. However, the degree of optimism regarding expectations over a one-year horizon has fallen to one of the lowest values this year, but is still at a fairly high level."

New orders in Kazakhstan’s services sector have now risen in six of the past seven months, according to the PMI data series.