The manufacturing sector in December climbed to its highest level since May 2009, signalling a faster monthly improvement in the key economic activity, an HSBC survey said today.
“December data pointed to a substantial increase in new business received by Indian manufacturers. Growth was the most marked for 15 months,” the HSBC Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) said.
Demand from both domestic and foreign sources rose since November “although the home market remained the main driver of total new business expansion”, it said. Manufacturers raised production for the ninth straight month at a considerable pace, PMI said.
HSBC Senior Asian Economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde said: “Concerns that growth in the manufacturing sector was taking a decisive turn for the worse should be allayed by this impressive release.” He said rise in new export orders index suggested external demand was playing key role in driving output.
However, most of the manufacturing companies remained cautious about the durability of the recovery and remained “reluctant to hire workers”, Prior-Wandesforde said.
But the situation would change over time, if “we are right in suggesting that the economic recovery will continue at a robust pace”.
Indian economy grew by 7.9 per cent for the second quarter ended September, of the current fiscal.The manufacturing segment of the total industrial production grew by impressive 11.1 per cent in October.
