Manufacturing PMI rises but still in contraction territory

ISTANBUL

Although the Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s (İSO) headline manufacturing PMI remained below the 50 mark for the eighth consecutive month in November, the latest reading of 48.3 was an improvement from 45.8 in October, indicating the least pronounced moderation in business conditions since May.

Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement in the sector.

The rise in the headline index reflected tentative signs of demand improvement midway through the final quarter of the year, the survey said, adding that both output and new orders moderated to lesser extents.

“Firms were helped by a further easing of inflationary pressures, with output prices increasing at the softest pace since December 2019,” the report added.

Although firms continued to face challenges securing new business, rates of moderation in both total new orders and new export business eased from October, the survey found.

Similarly, production was scaled back to a much lesser extent in November, with the latest easing of output the least marked since April.

The main positive from the latest survey was a renewed increase in employment, ending a nine-month period of moderation.

“Although slight, the pace of job creation was the sharpest since July 2023,” it said.

The pace at which firms increased their output prices also softened and was the slowest in almost five years.