India's June private sector growth slips to three-month low as demand, confidence cool, PMI shows

BENGALURU, June 23 (Reuters) - India's private sector expanded at its slowest pace in three months in June as weaker demand growth weighed on both factory and services activity, while business confidence slipped to its lowest level since January, a survey showed.

* HSBC's flash India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 57.4 this month from May's 59.3. A PMI reading above 50.0 indicates expansion in activity.

* Overall new orders, a key gauge of demand, rose at their slowest pace since March with firms citing competitive pressures and gas shortages as obstacles to securing business.

* On the export front, the picture was mixed as services companies saw slightly faster international sales growth but manufacturers recorded their weakest rise in new export orders since March 2023.

* The services PMI fell to a 17-month low of 57.3 from 59.8 while the manufacturing PMI slipped to a three-month low of 54.5 in June from 55.0 last month.

* The moderation in demand curbed job creation. Employment across the private sector rose only marginally in June - the weakest gain in the current six-month run of expansion - with hiring at both factories and service providers at their lowest since December.

* Cost pressures eased for a third straight month, dropping to their lowest level since January. Selling price inflation also cooled, with overall charges rising at the weakest pace in six months as some firms refrained from passing on increases amid challenging demand conditions.

* Business confidence slipped below its long-run average in June with sentiment at goods producers dropping to its weakest in nearly four years. (Reporting by Anant Chandak Editing by Shri Navaratnam)