A private industry survey released on Tuesday revealed that India’s manufacturing activity growth slowed for the second month in a row in July, with modest reduction in output and new orders, albeit the pace of increase remained solid.
S&P Global’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 57.7 in July from 57.8 in June, but this was somewhat higher than the Reuters poll consensus of 57.0.
The reading marked the index’s second consecutive year above the 50-point threshold that distinguishes expansion from contraction.
“The sector has maintained its position as one of the star performers globally, bucking the trend of demand weakness seen in other parts of the world,” said Andrew Harker, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“The Indian manufacturing sector showed little sign of slowing in July, with production lines continuing to run on the back of strong new order growth.”
In July, new orders were strong, while output growth slowed to a three-month low but remained strong.
With input costs climbing at the fastest rate since October, output prices climbed at a slower rate than the previous month, underlining inflationary uncertainty.
Retail inflation in India surged to 4.81% in June and is anticipated to rise further in the following months. Markets anticipate that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would maintain its key policy rate at a high level for an extended period of time.
Stay Update with FELA|
