Russia’s Manufacturing PMI continues falling, reaches 49.3 in Feb

MOSCOW, Mar 1 (PRIME) -- Russia’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in the manufacturing sector fell to 49.3 in February from 49.8 in January, remaining below the 50 notch distinguishing between an overall growth and contraction, for a third straight month, according to a Markit research note published Tuesday.

The output remained unchanged on the month but backlogs of work were depleting at a noticeable pace, it slightly decelerated since January, and job cuts “were evident.”

New business slightly grew in February because of a rising demand on the domestic market but export orders fell at the sharpest rate in 19 months.

Pre-production inventories declined on a lack of working capital.

Output prices continued to grow.

“With both low oil prices and the instability of the ruble also acting as factors for concern, the upcoming months look set to be challenging for the sector,” Samuel Agass, an economist at Markit, said in a research note.

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