Philippine Factory Growth Slows For Third Month

December’s headline PMI reading was a 30-month high, and the Markit/CIPS survey said rates of growth for production and new orders last month were among the best seen over the past two-and-a-half years.

The Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose from 53.4 in November to 56.1 last month, marking the fifth consecutive month of expansion and exceeding analysts’ expectations for a 53.3 reading.

“A drop in global demand was also reflected in the survey data, with new export orders declining at the sharpest rate since June”, it said.

Mumbai: The growth in India’s manufacturing sector contracted in December 2016 as severe cash crunch in the economy led to a sharp dip in new work orders and output.

Paul Sirani, an analyst at Xtrade, said: “Last month’s rapid expansion has been followed by a remarkable two-year high and the U.S. manufacturing sector appears to be in rude health”.

The PMI is a composite index calculated as a weighted average of five individual subcomponents.

CIER president Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) said that despite the expansion of manufacturing activity in December, the drop in the PMI was an indication that the recovery of the domestic economy was still mild.

PMI data is due from India’s key services sector on Wednesday before focus shifts to the government’s first official growth estimate for the year through March.

“Sterling’s fall also means that imported components are more expensive with both costs and output prices rising yet again”, he said. It also pointed out that December has the steepest monthly fall in new business from overseas since October.

“Total new orders, input buying and employment all rose at slower rates”.

Tim Hinton, managing director of mid-markets and SME policy at Lloyds, said, “Business confidence definitely dipped a bit following the European Union referendum result, but it has picked up again in the last few months, though still below the long-term average. Cash flow issues among firms also led to reductions in purchasing activity and employment”, said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at IHS Markit.