Turkish manufacturing PMI ticks up to 47.8 in August

ANKARA

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s (İSO) headline Türkiye Manufacturing PMI posted 47.8 in August, up from 47.2 in July, but “still signaling a moderation in the health of the sector during the month.”

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

Subdued demand conditions remained a feature of the Turkish manufacturing sector midway through the third quarter of the year, the survey said on Sept. 2.

Although new orders softened to a lesser extent than in July, the pace of moderation was still solid and led firms to scale back output, employment and purchasing activity, it added.

“The picture for international demand was more positive, with new export orders returning to growth for the first time since June 2023.”

Input costs continued to rise sharply, and manufacturers increased their output prices at a faster pace than in the previous month, according to the survey.

Currency weakness was the principal factor leading to higher input prices, while there were also reports of increases in costs for raw materials and logistics, it noted.

"Turkish manufacturers again struggled to generate new order growth during August, despite some encouraging signs with regards to exports,” commented Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Hopefully, the nascent recovery in exports seen in August will solidify in the months ahead and spread more widely to help the sector move into recovery mode, he said.