Manufacturing PMI ticks down to 50 in March

ISTANBUL

Latest PMI data signaled unchanged operating conditions for Turkish manufacturers in March with the headline PMI posting at the 50 no-change mark, a survey by S&P Global has shown.

Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement in the sector. The headline PMI reading was 50.2 in February.

Output ticked higher, while new orders and employment neared stabilization in March, the survey said, adding that Business conditions were, therefore, stable overall during the month.

Signs of demand improvements encouraged firms to expand their purchasing activity, but inventories continued to be drawn down, it noted.

New orders softened to the least extent in nine months, with this relative improvement in the demand environment encouraging some firms to expand production and increase purchasing activity, according to the report.

“The respective increases in output and input buying were the second in as many months, with the rate of expansion in purchasing more marked than that seen in February.”

Weakness of the Turkish Lira against the U.S. dollar was again a key factor pushing up input prices, while some firms also reported rising raw material costs, it said, adding that the rate of input cost inflation remained sharp but eased to a three-month low.

Selling prices also rose at the softest pace in three months during March, but the rate of inflation remained marked and was sharper than the series average, it noted.

March was a month of stability for Turkish manufacturers, commented Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“If the recent trend in demand continues, we should hopefully see growth building momentum as we go through the second quarter of the year,” Harker said.