BENGALURU, Feb 22 Reuters Indian business activity expanded at its fastest pace in seven months in February as demand remained strong for both manufacturing and services, according to a business survey released on Thursday, which also showed an easing in price pressures.

That supports the findings in a Reuters poll which found India, the fastest growing major economy, is expected to continue to grow at a steady pace over the coming years.

HSBC39;s flash India Composite Purchasing Managers39; Index PMI, compiled by SP Global, rose to 61.5 this month from January39;s final reading of 61.2, staying above the 50mark that separates expansion from contraction for a 31st straight month.

The pace of acceleration in the output of India39;s manufacturers and service providers, combined, was at a 7month high in February. Encouragingly, new export orders rose sharply, particularly for goods producers, noted Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.

The flash manufacturing PMI for February rose to 56.7 from last month39;s 56.5, its highest since September, and the preliminary services PMI was at a sevenmonth high of 62.0 from 61.8 in January.

New orders across the private sector continued to rise at a robust pace driven by demand in the dominant services industry, which expanded at the fastest pace since mid2010. Factory output accelerated to a fivemonth high.

Overall international orders increased at the quickest pace since September.

That bolstered the view for the…