 "India's October manufacturing PMI slips to 55.5, lowest in eight months")
India's manufacturing activity in October slipped to the lowest in eight months, said a survey by the credit rating agency S&P Global. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 55.5 in October, compared to 57.5 in September. It is the lowest since March when the PMI was 56.4.
According to S&P Global, there was a slower increase in total new orders, production, exports, buying levels and stocks of purchases. The hiring activity and business confidence slipped to a five-month low in October. Meanwhile, cost pressures intensified, while output price inflation receded.
"The survey's new orders index slipped to a one-year low, as some firms raised concerns about the current demand picture for their products. Consumer goods were behind most of the slowdown, recording considerably softer increases in sales, production, exports, input inventories and buying levels. Growth of all of the aforementioned variables was led by capital goods makers which, with the exception of new orders, registered accelerated rates of expansion," said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"We saw a further indication of broadly stable inflationary forces across the manufacturing industry. It appears that a moderate increase in input costs was simply passed on to clients," De Lima added.
The agency said that with fewer than 4 per cent of companies hiring extra staff and 95 per cent leaving workforce numbers unchanged, the rate of job creation was slight and the slowest since April.
The price trends were also mixed. Both input costs and output charges increased, but inflation of the former accelerated while factory gate charges rose to a weaker extent. When listing materials that had increased in price, firms mentioned aluminium, chemicals, leather, paper, rubber and steel, the agency said in its announcement.
However, the sector continues to grow as a reading of over 50 shows expansion in the sector.