The latest HSBC and Markit survey of the Emerging Markets (EMs) has stated that the global emerging markets started 2015 on a weak footing. However, there was a positive for India, which registered one of the fastest growth rates in two years. India's manufacturing and services sectors expanded at a faster pace than China in January. Among the four largest emerging economies, HSBC said that only India bucked the trend and recorded one of the fastest growth in January. India’s EMI rose to 53.3 in January from 52.9 in the previous month, while the same stood at 49.6 in January 2014.
The HSBC Emerging Markets Index (EMI), a monthly indicator derived from the PMI surveys, fell back from December’s three-month high of 51.7 to 51.2, the joint-lowest since last May. In 2014 the EMI averaged 51.4, the lowest for any calendar year since the series began in late-2005. The overall slowdown was driven by the weakest expansion in services activity in eight months. In contrast, manufacturing output growth picked up to the fastest since August. New business growth moderated in January and remained historically weak, while backlogs were broadly unchanged and employment rose only marginally. Inflationary pressures weakened further in January, as Chinese firms’ input prices fell at the fastest rate since March 2009.
Among the four largest emerging economies, Russia and Brazil fared worst in January, while Chinese growth slowed for the fourth time in five months with India seeing its best spell of growth since early-2013. The report further stated that the outlook for global emerging markets remained relatively weak in January. The HSBC Emerging Markets Future Output Index, which tracks firms’ expectations for activity in 12 months’ time, rose further from November’s record low, but it was still the third lowest to date.