India’s economic growth hits lowest level since late-2022 in World Economy News 25/03/2026 India’s private sector output expanded at the slowest pace since October 2022 in March, according to the HSBC Flash India PMI Composite Output Index, which fell to 56.5 from 58.9 in February. The slowdown reflected weaker domestic demand for goods and services, though international orders rose at a record pace. Companies cited the Middle East war, unstable market conditions and inflationary pressures as factors dampening growth. Manufacturing output increased at the softest rate since August 2021, with goods producers reporting that the war in the Middle East weighed on production growth by exacerbating market instability, driving inflationary pressures higher and restricting demand through heightened uncertainty among clients and consumers. Service providers also indicated a weaker upturn in business activity, the least marked since January 2025. Anecdotal evidence pointed to disruptions to international travel and the negative impact of joint strikes by the US and Israel and Iran’s counterattacks. New orders placed with manufacturing companies and services providers rose at the slowest pace since November 2022. International sales rose at a series-record pace in March. Service providers led the expansion, though manufacturers also saw a pick-up in growth. Companies reported new business gains from clients in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the US. Input costs rose to the greatest extent in close to four years, with companies reporting price increases for aluminium, chemicals, electronic components, energy, food, iron ore, leather, oil, rubber and steel. Selling prices rose at the strongest rate in seven months. Firms absorbed a large part of their additional cost burdens, as the rate of charge inflation trailed that of input costs by a considerable margin. Price pressures were more intense in the service economy than in the manufacturing industry during March for both input costs and output charges. Private sector companies continued to expand their capacities through staff recruitment. Employment rose at a moderate pace that was the quickest since August. Companies cited confidence in the outlook for business activity, pending orders and pipelines of new work as reasons for hiring. Outstanding business volumes at the composite level rose for the fourth successive month in March, but the pace of accumulation was only marginal. Backlogs of work expanded among service providers, while goods producers recorded the first decline in 17 months. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI fell from 56.9 in February to 53.8 in March, a four-and-a-half-year low. Indian private sector firms were optimistic of an increase in output levels over the coming 12 months. Efficiency enhancements, marketing campaigns and new client enquiries were some of the reasons companies gave for their positive assessments. Data were collected from March 11 to 19. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-25 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 't