India's private sector growth moderated in December, with the HSBC India Composite PMI easing to 58.9 from 59.7 in November, marking the weakest expansion since February. The slowdown reflected softer momentum across both manufacturing and services, although activity remained firmly in expansion territory. New order growth cooled, but foreign demand improved, recording its strongest increase in three months. Employment conditions were largely stable, with hiring rising at the slowest pace since February 2024, while firms kept backlogs broadly unchanged for a third consecutive month. Price pressures remained muted, as input cost inflation stayed near a 5'-year low and output charges rose only modestly. Business confidence remained positive but weakened for a third straight month, slipping to its lowest level since July 2022.

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