new delhi business activity in india picked up slightly in july as a gradual improvement in services and exports showed the economy possibly moved past its worstshowing in the previous quarterfive of the eight highfrequency indicators compiled by bloomberg news gained last month while two were unchanged and one deteriorated that helped move the needle on a dial measuring socalled animal spirits to the right after remaining stuck at a lower speed for two monthsthe pickup in the gauge which uses the threemonth weighted average to smooth out volatility in the singlemonth readings holds out hope for a gradual recovery in the economy the worlds biggest lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought activity to a virtual halt last quarter with data due august 31 likely to show gross domestic product declined 192 from a year agoany rebound will be slow though with economists in a bloomberg survey predicting a milder contraction of 53 in the quarter to septemberbusiness activityservices activity recorded a marginal improvement in july with the main index for the sector standing at 342 while a reading under 50 indicates contraction in activity last months index was better than junes 337 and continues the recovery from the record low of 54 in aprilmanufacturing also continued to contract with the purchasing managers index dipping to 460 from 472 in june as domestic orders and output took a hit as a result the markit india composite pmi for july slipped to 372 from 378 a month earlierexportswhile exports fell 102 in july from a year ago shipments gained 79 from a month earlier nonoil exports have almost recovered to last years levels while farm shipments expanded at a robust pace of 20 according to economists at kotak mahindra bank ltd overseas demand for engineering goods drugs and pharmaceuticals along with iron ore shipments also picked upconsumer activityconsumers the bedrock of the economy remained glum with many grappling with joblessness and falling wages a survey by the central bank showed that their confidence slumped to a record low in july although households were cautiously optimistic about the coming yearcar sales another indicator of consumer demand were down 12 in july from a year ago having dropped nearly 50 in june data from the society of indian automobile manufacturers showedbank credit growth slowed to 55 yearonyear at the end of july from 62 in june and around 12 a year ago while outstanding bank credit pickedup slightly to 1027 trillion rupees in july liquidity conditions tightened during the month boding ill for borrowersindustrial activitythe index of industrial production fell 166 in june from a year earlier although the decline was shallower in may when it contracted 339 higher demand for drugs and pharmaceutical exports meant production across these sectors picked up although other segments such as textiles and transport equipment along with mining activity remained sluggishmeanwhile output at infrastructure industries shrank 15 in june from a year ago and was slightly better than the 2198 decline in may the