March PMI touches 5-month high on new orders, output growth
NEW DELHI: Buoyed by sharp rise in production and new orders, India's manufacturing activity expanded the fastest in five months in March, a private survey showed Monday.
The The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in March from 50.7 in February.
"The health of India’s manufacturing sector improved for the third straight month in March, and to the greatest extent since October 2016," the survey said.
A reading of over 50 on the index indicates expansion while that below the benchmark denotes contraction.
The survey said that incoming new orders expanded at a stronger pace, thereby leading to quicker increases in production and input purchasing. Moreover, firms hired additional employees to cope with greater workloads. Although both input costs and output charges rose further, inflation rates softened from those seen in February.
However, for the January-to-March quarter, the PMI average of 51.2 was the lowest seen since the first quarter of 2016-17 of 51.
"Looking ahead, production volumes are likely to rise further as businesses will seek to replenish their stocks,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economist at IHS Markit and author of the report.
The The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in March from 50.7 in February.
"The health of India’s manufacturing sector improved for the third straight month in March, and to the greatest extent since October 2016," the survey said.
A reading of over 50 on the index indicates expansion while that below the benchmark denotes contraction.
The survey said that incoming new orders expanded at a stronger pace, thereby leading to quicker increases in production and input purchasing. Moreover, firms hired additional employees to cope with greater workloads. Although both input costs and output charges rose further, inflation rates softened from those seen in February.
However, for the January-to-March quarter, the PMI average of 51.2 was the lowest seen since the first quarter of 2016-17 of 51.
"Looking ahead, production volumes are likely to rise further as businesses will seek to replenish their stocks,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economist at IHS Markit and author of the report.
