MOSCOW, Apr 1 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) decreased to 47.5 in March from 48.2 in February, remaining below the 50 no-change mark, which means overall deterioration, researcher IHS Markit said on Wednesday.
Latest PMI survey data signaled a further deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector in March. The decline was the fastest for three months amid stronger contractions in production and new orders.
As a result, business confidence dropped to a series low as firms expressed uncertainty towards the global economic outlook following the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Nonetheless, employment was broadly unchanged despite a strong fall in backlogs of work. The headline figure was also slightly buoyed by a solid deterioration in vendor performance.
"The Russian manufacturing sector remained in contraction in March, as the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 began to emerge in global supply chains and external demand conditions. A sharper decline in new orders was also linked to weak domestic demand, as firms struggled to build growth momentum,” Sian Jones, economist at IHS Markit, commented on the survey.
"Uncertainty regarding the strength of the global economy and future demand weighed heavy on manufacturers' minds as business confidence sank to a series low. Our current forecast for industrial production indicates a contraction in year-on-year terms in the first quarter of 2020, with the decline accelerating through to the latter stages of the year."
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