Turkey's manufacturing index drops to 8-month low

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Turkey’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 51.3 in April, but the country’s manufacturing industry continues to grow, albeit slowly, according to officials.

The PMI, which is prepared by Markit for HSBC, has been rising for the last eight months above 50, the main borderline, for Turkey but the index regressed to its lowest in April during the eight-month peak. The index was 52.3 in March.

Fourteen percent of the companies which participated in the survey said their production decreased due to a slowdown in the market.

The sub-index on new purchasing orders by companies decreased from 53.3 to 50.9 in April. New
export orders, one part of the new purchasing orders index, decreased from 50.3 to 53.2 “The purchasing managers’ index started the year quite strong, but the index indicates now the recovery in
the manufacturing industry slowed down a bit by the beginning of the second quarter. If the PMI Index and official data addresses a weakening trend in the manufacturing industry, the Turkish Central Bank can expand its monetary policy a bit more,” said Melis Metiner, an HSBC Turkey economist.

The Turkish PMI Index has been prepared since June 2005 on the basis of responses from manufacturing companies to the PMI survey every month.

Elsewhere, China’s April PMI fell from 51.6 to 50.4 in March. The data follows a reading of 50.6 in the official PMI, a competing index released May 1, which was also down from the previous month.