Growth in the U.S. service sector during April eased from a seven-month high in March, according to the financial information services provider Markit, but numbers still point to strong start to the second quarter.

Its Flash U.S. Services Purchasing Managers Index fell to 57.8 in April, after registering 59.2 during the previous month. Despite the drop, the reading still well above the neutral 50 threshold and points to a faster pace of expansion than the average seen since the survey began in late 2009.

Anecdotal evidence from survey respondents mainly cited steadily improving domestic economic conditions and a corresponding upturn in new business intakes, according to Markit. Looking ahead, service sector companies are upbeat overall about the prospects for activity growth at their business units, while the degree of positive sentiment towards the year-ahead outlook picked up to its strongest since January.

“The service sector enjoyed strong growth at the start of the second quarter, adding to evidence that the economy remains in good health. Although the pace of expansion slowed compared to March, April saw the second-largest rise in business activity for seven months,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. “Alongside a solid rise in output signaled by the sister manufacturing PMI survey, the robust growth signaled by the services survey points to the economy as a whole picking up speed again after a temporary soft patch at the start of the year."

He said while the U.S. gross domestic product looks to have risen at a mere 1% annual rate in the first quarter (U.S. government numbers have yet to be released) Markit's surveys are pointing to growth accelerating to around 3% in the second quarter.

“Although the manufacturing survey showed signs of exporters struggling in the face of the dollar’s appreciation, the resilient strength of domestic demand reflected in the services survey will help reassure policymakers that the economy remains buoyant,” Williamson said. “The surveys also indicated that inflationary pressures are reviving, with charges for goods and services rising at the fastest rate since last September."