Brazil's services sector returned to growth in April, with the S&P Global Brazil Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbing to 52.3 from 50.1 in March, the financial information firm reported on May 8.

The headline reading moved above the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction and surpassed the long-run survey average of 50.3, indicating a moderate pickup in business activity after the previous month's near-stagnation.

Output growth was driven by higher demand and a renewed rise in new orders following a contraction in March, S&P Global said. Consumer services recorded the strongest sales gains, while real estate and business services lagged.

Input cost inflation accelerated to its second-highest level in close to four years, with companies citing higher spending on fuel, energy, transport and raw materials. Firms passed part of those costs on to clients, with transport, information and communication companies reporting the sharpest increase in output charges.

"Although services firms hiked their fees in April as they experienced historically elevated cost pressures, they managed to eke out sales growth," said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

De Lima linked the surge in cost pressures to international energy markets disrupted by the recent Middle East conflict.

"Considering the detrimental impact of the war in the Middle East on international fuel prices, it's not surprising to see transport, information & communication companies reporting by far the steepest increase in output charges," she said.

Brazilian services account for the largest share of the country's economic output and the sector's performance is closely watched as a leading indicator of consumer spending and broader GDP momentum.

The latest reading marks a recovery from March, when the index dipped to 50.1, the weakest expansion in months and a sign that the pass-through from higher fuel and transport costs had begun to weigh on activity.

Brazil's central bank has flagged imported inflation tied to global oil markets as a key risk to its disinflation path, with policymakers monitoring transport and energy components of the consumer price index for evidence of second-round effects on services prices.