The manufacturing sector showed further improvement in April. However, growth remained modest and historically muted, an HSBC India survey said on Friday.
The HSBC Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) stood unchanged at 51.3 in April. The index is a measure of factory production and is based on data compiled from monthly responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in around 500 manufacturing companies. A figure above 50 indicates expansion, and below that, a decline.
Commenting on the results of the survey, Leif Eskesen, Chief Economist for India & Asean at HSBC, said: “The momentum in the manufacturing sector held broadly steady, with domestic demand countering a slowdown in export orders. However, a build-up in finished goods inventories could weigh on output growth in coming months in the absence of a pick-up in demand.” He said though inflation pressures had eased, the RBI was unlikely to ease its inflation guard.
The survey said manufacturing production rose for the sixth successive month in April amid reports of improved new business inflows. Nonetheless, growth in output waned on the back of competitive pressures and power outages.
Sector data highlighted higher production in two of the three monitored categories: consumer and intermediate goods.
Source: The Hindu-BL
Source: The Hindu-BL
