Manufacturing PMI increases in November

ISTANBUL

The manufacturing PMI showed a slight improvement in November, a closely watched survey showed on Dec. 1.

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing PMI, compiled by S&P Global, registered at 48 last month, up from 46.5 in October.

Although still below the 50 no-change mark and, therefore, signaling an easing of business conditions during the month, the latest slowdown was the least pronounced since February, the survey said.

“In line with the headline figure, manufacturing production eased at the softest pace in nine months during November. Nonetheless, output was still scaled back as firms responded to lower new orders,” it noted.

New orders softened amid demand weakness, albeit with the pace of moderation the slowest since August, according to the survey.

The rate of slowdown in new export orders intensified, however, with some firms highlighting a competitive international pricing environment, it said.

Firms were helped in their efforts to limit charge inflation by a slower rise in input costs, the survey found.

“Here too, the latest increase was the slowest for almost a year. Where input prices rose, panellists generally linked this to higher raw material costs,” it explained.

A more muted inflationary environment provided a boost to the Turkish manufacturing sector in November, commented Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“The data provide hope that the turn of the year will see improving fortunes for manufacturers,” he said.