MUMBAI, May 3 (NNN-PTI) – India’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), rose to 54.7 in Apr, from 54.0 in Mar, led by exports, as per a private survey released yesterday.
“Factories continued to scale up production at an above-trend pace, with the ongoing increases in sales and input purchasing, suggesting that growth will be sustained in the near-term,” said Pollyanna De Lima, the economics associate director, at S&P Global, which measures the index.
The Apr data showed a rebound in new export orders, following the first contraction for nine months in March. The rate of increase was solid and the strongest since last July, the S&P Global statement said.
Amid a surge in growth, rising commodity prices, coupled with logistics cost, intensified inflationary pressures, as input prices rose at the fastest pace in five months.
“Companies responded to this by hiking their fees to the greatest extent in one year,” Lima said.
While there was only a mild increase in employment during Apr, some improvement was seen in business confidence, though the overall degree of optimism remained subdued by historical standards, the statement said.– NNN-PTI
