Italy services growth accelerates but cost pressures intensify, PMI shows

ROME, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Italy's service sector growth accelerated in October, a survey showed on Wednesday, but cost pressures intensified further, driven by turmoil in the Middle East.

• S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the Italian service sector stood at 52.0, up from September's 51.7

• October's reading was the fifth month running above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction

• It beat a forecast of 51.5 in a Reuters survey of 11 analysts

• The employment indicator stood at 50.8 from 50.5, marking the 21st straight month of job growth

• The subindex for new business rose to 53.5, above the 50 threshold for a fifth month running, from 52.8 in September

• The survey's measure of "prices charged" rose to 55.9 from 54.8, posting the highest reading since February 2023

• The input prices indicator jumped to 68.4 from 65.4 to mark the highest level since December 2022

• Italy's annual inflation rate jumped to 5.6% in October, data showed last week, while its economic growth stagnated in the third quarter

• S&P Global's sister survey for Italy's smaller manufacturing sector, released on Monday, showed an unexpected contraction in October

• The composite PMI, combining manufacturing and services, declined slightly to 50.8 in October from 51.0 in September, pointing to a seventh straight month of expansion but marking the lowest reading since June

(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli; Editing by Gavin Jones and Hugh Lawson)