Easy manufacturing activities in India in March; Challenging times ahead: Survey

A monthly survey on April 5 stated that India’s manufacturing sector activities lost further growth rates and fell to a seven-month low in March, as demand for the COVID-19 epidemic surged. was.

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

However, the latest readings were indicative of a substantial improvement in the health of the region which surpassed the long-running series average.

In PMI parlance, prints above 50 mean expansion while a score below 50 indicates contraction.

“Production, new orders and input purchases expanded at softer rates,” said Polina de Lima, economics associate director at IHS Retail.

Ms. Lima further noted that “survey participants indicated that the increase in demand was hindered by the escalation of the COVID-19 epidemic, while the increase in input purchases was halted due to cost pressures.” “With the expansion of COVID-19 restrictions and reintroduction of lockdown measures in many states, Indian manufacturers are set to experience a challenging month,” Ms. Lima said.

According to the updated Union Health Ministry data updated on 5 April, India reported 1,03,558 coronavirus infections a day from the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,25,89,067.

The survey said employment declined in March, taking the current sequence of jobs for a year. “The panelists indicated that the decline is related to COVID-19 which is a workforce-related restriction. Despite the decrease in payroll numbers, there was a slight increase in outstanding business, ”said Ms. Lima.

Business confidence declined in March. Although some firms expected production to increase in the coming 12 months, the vast majority predicted no change from current levels.

On the price front, the input cost inflation rate was the strongest seen in the last three years. However, there was a slight increase in sales prices as companies limited their adjustments to maintain a competitive edge and boost sales.

According to experts, the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases and the government’s recent mandate prompted the central bank to maintain retail inflation around 4 percent, prompting the Reserve Bank of India to maintain the status quo at policy rates in the next policy review Can get it. Will be unveiled on 7 April.