Manufacturing PMI in April slumps to record low of 27.4 amid lockdown

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) had already been on a downward curve registering 51.8 in March, much below January's eight-year high of 55.3

The nationwide lockdown in April, coupled with a crash in export orders, led to unprecedented contraction in manufacturing output, said the monthly Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’s Index (PMI) survey released on Monday. The survey highlighted how reduced demand had led to new businesses collapsing at a record pace in April, while firms sharply trimmed staff numbers.
 

Manufacturing PMI stood at just 27.4 in April, showing the sharpest deterioration in business conditions across the sector since the data collection began over 15 years ago. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.