India's PMI number ticked up to 54.9 from 54.7 in March.
"Activity in the manufacturing sector expanded at a slightly faster pace in April," said economist Leif Eskesen. "While output growth moderated, partly on the back of power outages, new orders continued to pour in, including for exports."
Key points:
- Output increases at weakest pace in 2012 so far
- New business growth accelerates
- Inflationary pressures strengthen
From Markit:
The seasonally adjusted HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) – a headline index designed to measure the overall health of the manufacturing sector – posted 54.9 in April, little-changed from 54.7 in March and signalling a solid improvement in operating conditions.
A combination of improved client demand and good quality products led to a further increase in new business at Indian manufacturers during April. Moreover, the rate of expansion was considerable, and faster than in March. Growth in new export orders also quickened during the month, and was marked.
Although manufacturing output increased, the rate of expansion slowed fractionally, and was the weakest in 2012 so far. Respondents indicated that higher new orders had led to the rise in output, but power cuts had prevented firms from increasing production at a faster rate.
Production issues contributed to another sharp increase in backlogs of work, with the pace of accumulation largely unchanged from March’s series record. Power shortages were also reported to have impacted negatively on supplier performance in April, although delivery times were broadly unchanged over the month.
Employment rose for the fourth time in the past five months in April. That said, the latest increase in staffing levels was only modest. Where job creation was recorded, this was mainly linked to higher workloads.
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