India Manufacturing PMI Rises to 4-month high of 56.9 in Feb

New Delhi: With the strong domestic demand that played a key driver for new orders and production, India’s factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months in February, although export growth cooled to its slowest rate in nearly a year-and-a-half, a private survey showed on Monday.

The survey showed that the seasonally adjusted HSBC India manufacturing purchasing managers’ index or PMI rose from 55.4 in January to a four-month high of 56.9 in February. In the PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

Commenting on the survey, Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC said that India’s final manufacturing PMI reflected an acceleration in manufacturing activity in February. “Output expanded at a faster rate for a second month, supported by stronger domestic orders,” Bhandari said.

As per the survey, goods producers indicated that demand buoyancy, marketing initiatives and rising client requirements underpinned another expansion in new business intakes. “According to panel members, efficiency improvements, healthy underlying demand, rising intakes of new work and tech investment collectively boosted production volumes,” the survey said.

The survey, however, noted that there was one area where growth took a step back due to new export orders. Though external sales rose, monitored companies cited gains from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US. “Growth in new export orders continued its slowing trend that began in mid-2025, somewhat restricting employment creation in the manufacturing sector,” Bhandari added.

On the price front, the survey pointed out that cost pressures remained benign, rising at a moderate rate that matched the level seen in January. “With total new orders continuing to expand sharply, manufacturers in India purchased additional materials to supplement production and add to inventories,” it noted.