New Delhi, June 24 -- India's private-sector activity expanded at a slower pace in June as growth in both manufacturing and services moderated amid softer demand, cost pressures and slower hiring, according to HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data released by S&P Global on Tuesday. The HSBC Flash India Composite PMI Output Index fell to 57.4 in June from 59.3 in May. While the reading remained comfortably above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction, it was the weakest since March, the first full month of the US-Israel war with Iran. The slowdown was visible across both manufacturing and services. The HSBC Flash India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell to 57.3 in June from the final reading of 59.8 in May, marking the weakest pace of expansion in 17 months. The The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI Output Index eased to 57.4 from 58.0, while the headline HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI slipped to a three-month low of 54.5 from 55.0 in May. Flash data presented here are calculated from 80-90% of total responses and are intended to provide an early indication of the final data. Export trends were mixed. Services firms reported faster growth in new export business, but manufacturers saw the weakest rise in export orders since March 2023. At the composite level, international sales expanded at a solid pace, although the rate of increase was the slowest in 21 months. "Private sector activity eased a bit in June. Growth of manufacturing output softened a tad as inventory-building lost steam after a few hectic months. New export orders remained resilient and the order-to-inventory ratio ticked up, pointing at resilient manufacturing activity down the line," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. The moderation in demand growth also weighed on hiring. Employment continued to increase in June, but only marginally and at the slowest pace in the current six-month sequence of job creation....