Markit says Russia's Manufacturing PMI rises to 49.8 in September

MOSCOW, Oct 1 (PRIME) -- Russia's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) grew to 49.8 in September from 46.5 in August, staying lower than the 50 no-change mark, which signals an overall decrease of activity in the sector, researcher IHS Markit said in a statement on Friday.

"Russian manufacturers signaled a more positive end to the third quarter, as production returned to expansion territory. Although domestic demand conditions improved, new export orders fell further," Economist Sian Jones was quoted as saying.

“Manufacturers were more hesitant in their expectations regarding the outlook for output in the coming year as confidence hit an eleven-month low. At the same time, muted pressure on capacity led to another round of job losses across the sector.”

September saw the first output expansion since June. New orders increased after four months of contraction, but new export orders continued falling. Input cost rise continued, but at the slowest rate in a year. The sales prices grew at the slowest rate since October 2020. Employment fell slightly. The outlook for business performance was the worst since October 2020.

Although client demand remained historically weak, the latest data signalled an end to a four-month sequence of contraction in new sales. Where an increase in orders was reported, companies partly attributed this to the acquisition of new clients.

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