Live
- Albania joins SEPA, paving way for EU integration
- Japanese government approves 250-billion USD economic package to ease price pain
- Six pharma companies to set up their units in Telangana
- The Unstable Events of a 17-Wicket Day in Perth: India vs Australia
- Dutch FM's Israel trip cancelled after Netanyahu's arrest warrant
- UK to increase energy price cap by 1.2 per cent
- Ethiopia launches national coffee platform to maximise earnings
- Centre completes auction of 3 coal blocks, to yield annual revenue of Rs 2,710 crore
- Ullal Woman Files Complaint Against Husband Over Instant Talaq and Abuse
- Analysis: Russia's Nuclear-Capable Missile Marks Shift from Cold War Deterrence Doctrine
Manufacturing activity hits 14-mth high in Feb
The countrys manufacturing sector performance further strengthened in February and touched a 14month high driven by acceleration in sales, output and employment, a monthly survey showed on FridayThe Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 543 in February, from 539 in January, amid a robust improvement in business conditions This is the 19th consecutive month that the ma
New Delhi: The country's manufacturing sector performance further strengthened in February and touched a 14-month high driven by acceleration in sales, output and employment, a monthly survey showed on Friday.The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.3 in February, from 53.9 in January, amid a robust improvement in business conditions. This is the 19th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark.
In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. According to the survey, the February data reflected strongest improvement in business conditions since December 2017, sharpest rise in factory orders for 28 months and underpins faster increases in production and employment.
"The Indian manufacturing sector made further progress midway through the final quarter of FY18, building on the accelerated upturn noted in January," said Pollyanna De Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit and author of the report. Lima further noted that the upturn in employment was one of the best seen for six-and-a-half years, as goods producers sought to expand output capacities to meet strengthening demand from both domestic and external sources.
On the inflation front, rates of both input cost and output charge inflation remained subdued by historical standards, despite picking up from January. According to experts, the signs of easing inflationary pressures indicate that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to adopt an accommodative monetary policy stance.
The next meeting of RBI's Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled on April 2-4. "The survey results suggest that manufacturing will likely provide a stronger contribution to overall economic growth in the final quarter, provided that March's figures stay on this favourable path," Lima said. For FY19, IHS Markit has revised higher its GDP growth forecast, from 7.0 per cent to 7.1 per cent, amid the announcement of fiscal stimulus for the new interim budget and the policy rate cut announced in February.
India's economic growth slipped to a 5-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December period of 2018-19, mainly due to poor performance of farm, mining and manufacturing sectors, official data showed Thursday.
