DUBLIN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's growth in the services sector moved up to a three-month high in August, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The August Irish services purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by Investec, showed a slight uptick in the overall rate of growth in activity in August, with the PMI firming to 58.4 from the previous month's 58.3 reading.
But there were signs the strength of the euro may be impacting exports in the sector, according to Investec.
Investec is a leading international, specialist-banking group with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Investec's monthly Services PMI covers all private sector services in Ireland, excluding retail and wholesale, and provides timely data on an area of the economy that is not well covered by official figures.
The data are derived from questionnaires sent to a representative panel of around 450 Irish private-sector service companies.
"This outturn is in spite of a slight moderation in the pace of growth in both new business and new export orders. On the latter, we note that the rate of growth in new export orders now stands at a three month low, which may be partly influenced by the recent strengthening of the euro," said Philip O'Sullivan, chief economist of Investec Ireland.
But the Irish economist said the improving trends across most of Ireland's key trading partners will be sufficient to deliver continued progress for the country's services industry.
A single purchase
