Markit: Russia’s Manufacturing PMI rises to 47.2 in October

MOSCOW, Nov 1 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 47.2 in October from 46.3 in September, remaining below the 50 no-change mark, which means overall deterioration, researcher IHS Markit said on Friday.

“The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Russia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM – a composite single-figure snapshot of the performance of the manufacturing economy – registered 47.2 in October, up from 46.3 in September, but signaling a sixth successive decline in the health of the manufacturing sector at the start of the fourth quarter of 2019. The pace of the overall contraction was the second-strongest since May 2009,” the report said.

Russian manufacturers registered a further decrease in production in October. Although the rate of decline softened from September’s recent record, it was solid overall and among the fastest for three-and-a-half years. The downturn in output was attributed to lower client demand and a sustained drop in new business.

“Manufacturers across Russia continued to register strong falls in output and new orders, with client demand declining at the sharpest pace since April 2009 in October. Underpinning the decrease in demand was an accelerated and marked contraction in new business from abroad,” Sian Jones, economist at Markit, commented on the survey.

“Although employment fell further amid lower production requirements, firms remained robustly optimistic regarding output over the coming year. Business confidence reportedly stemmed from planned investment in machinery and new product developments.”

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