New Delhi, July 3 -- India's service economy remained firmly inside expansion territory, but the PMI results for June showed a loss of momentum as challenging market conditions and reduced client interest for some services reportedly stymied growth in total sales and output, a private survey showed on Friday.

Accordingly, India's services sector grew at a weaker pace during June, with output moderating as new order growth slowed to its weakest pace in more than two-and-a-half years, the survey said.

The HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 57.4 in June from 59.8 in May, indicating the weakest rate of expansion in 17 months. However, the reading remained above both its long-run average of ...