India’s Feb PMI Hits 3-Month High at 59.3
As per the survey, goods producers reported a sharper rise in sales, pushing output growth to a four-month high: Reports
NEW DELHI: Despite the inflationary pressures, India’s private sector accelerated in the month of February this year, led by robust demand for goods even as services growth was broadly steady. The improvement was supported by robust total new orders, which rose at the quickest pace since November, a private survey showed on Friday.
HSBC’s flash India composite purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 59.3 in February from January's 58.4 - the strongest in three months and above the forecast of 59.0. However, the 50-mark separates expansion from contraction.
As per the survey data, the preliminary headline reading for manufacturing PMI rose to 57.5 in February from 55.4 in January, while the services PMI was slightly dropped to 58.4 versus 58.5 in the same period. “The manufacturing industry strengthened in February, supported by robust growth in output and new domestic orders. That said, growth of new export orders slowed,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.
However, the survey also showed that the businesses attributed gains to strong demand, local tourism and marketing efforts and international sales also increased at the fastest pace in five months, bolstering overall demand. “Conversely, services saw a notable acceleration in new export business, while its domestic orders moderated. Both manufacturers and service providers were optimistic about the future, despite rising inflationary pressures,” Bhandari noted.
As per the survey, goods producers reported a sharper rise in sales, pushing output growth to a four-month high. Services firms, however, saw growth in new business ease to a 13-months low, even as they outperformed manufacturers on export orders. “Better sales supported hiring at a faster pace and optimism about year-ahead activity improved to its strongest in a year,” it said.
The survey also showed higher price pressures with input costs rising at their fastest rate in 15 months and pushing overall output charge inflation to a six-month high. Services firms faced the steepest rise in input price inflation in two-and-a-half years, while factory input price inflation remained unchanged from January.