Factory output slows to 7-month low in March

New Delhi, April 5

India’s manufacturing sector activities lost further growth momentum and fell to a seven-month low in March as demand was constrained by the escalation of the Covid pandemic, a monthly survey said on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 57.5 in February to a seven-month low of 55.4 in March.

PMI falls from 57.5 in Feb to 55.4

• The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell from 57.5 in February to a seven-month low of 55.4 in March
• However, the latest reading was indicative of a substantial improvement in the health of the sector that outpaced the long-run series average
• In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction

However, the latest reading was indicative of a substantial improvement in the health of the sector that outpaced the long-run series average, it said.

In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

“Production, new orders and input buying expanded at softer rates,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit.

The survey noted that employment declined in March, taking the current sequence of job shedding to a year. — PTI

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