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Italian service sector contraction eases while inflationary pressure intensifies
Italian service providers registered another month of declining activity in November as demand weakness continued to weigh on the sector. Moreover, both output and incoming new work registered contractions but at slower rates. Although cost inflationary pressures intensified, companies absorbed a greater proportion of the burden, as selling prices only rose marginally. Some positivity was however seen in companies hiring decisions as November saw firms increase their payroll numbers after a month of cuts in October. The headline index from the report, the HCOB Italy Services PMI® Business Activity Index picked up ... (full story)