Markit: Russia's Manufacturing PMI rises to 50.9 in January

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (PRIME) -- Russia's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) grew to 50.9 in January from 49.7 in December 2020, rising above the 50 no-change mark, which signals an overall increase, researcher IHS Markit said on Monday.

“The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Russia Manufacturing PMI registered 50.9 in January, up from 49.7, to signal the first improvement in operating conditions across the Russian manufacturing sector for five months. The latest PMI figure indicated marginal growth and was only slightly below the long-run series average,” the statement read.

Production increased for the first time since September 2020, and it was connected to stronger client demand and to an increase in new orders.

Data for January signals a return to growth of new business, and some companies said that their orders that had previously been delayed due to the pandemic were approved. Though not significant, the growth dynamics were the highest since August 2020, but the decline in new export orders was the sharpest since May 2020, the agency said.

“January data signalled the first improvement in the health of the Russian manufacturing sector since last August, as output and new orders returned to expansion. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on external demand, however, as exports fell markedly. Encouragingly, increased new order inflows and expectations of sustained output growth over the year ahead led firms to raise employment for the first time since July 2019,” Sian Jones, economist at IHS Markit, said, as cited in the statement.

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