Ireland’s services sector expanded at the slowest pace in 12 months in November due to weaker domestic demand, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The Investec Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased to 56.0 in November from 57.5 a month earlier, according to Reuters.
The index has nevertheless held comfortably above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction since August 2012, when Ireland was halfway through a three-year financial bailout programme.
However, the managers remained optimistic, however, with business sentiment ticking up slightly in the month.
Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O‘Sullivan said, “Despite the slightly slower pace of current growth implied by the headline PMI, Irish services firms remain upbeat about the outlook for the sector.”
“A number of panellists expect new export orders to be a key driver of growth in 2018 and, given the improving international backdrop, we think that this is a very reasonable assessment of the sector’s prospects,” he said.