Markit says Russia's Manufacturing PMI falls to 50.4 in April

MOSCOW, May 4 (PRIME) -- Russia's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 50.4 in April from 51.1 in March, staying above the 50 no-change mark, which signals an overall expansion of activity in the sector, researcher IHS Markit said in a statement on Tuesday.

“April PMI data signaled a fractional improvement in the health of the Russian manufacturing sector. The overall speed of recovery slowed from that seen in March following softer output growth and a renewed decline in new orders,” it said.

“At the same time, input costs soared once again, as supplier delivery delays and logistical issues weighed on vendor performance. One of the quickest increases in cost burdens for six years reportedly led firms to raise their selling prices at the sharpest rate since February 2015 in an effort to pass on part of the hike in input prices.”

Economist Sian Jones said as quoted by Markit that the Russian manufacturing sector took a slight step backwards in its move towards recovery in April. Although output continued to expand, a renewed contraction in client demand weighed on growth and resulted in little change to employment numbers.

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