Falling to 4-month low, India’s manufacturing sector activity signaled a slightly slower growth in February month, as output and new orders increased at slower rates. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - slowed down to 52.1 in February from 52.4 in January. However, the reading signaled an expansion for the seventh consecutive month, remained above the no-change mark of 50.0.
As per the survey report, total new orders grew for the fourth successive month but at the slower rate. Besides, the employment growth also increased at modest rate but slightly faster rate than at the start of 2018, as firms raised their staffing levels in line with greater production requirements. The firms also raised their purchasing activity, on the back of improved demand conditions but the rate of expansion eased to the weakest since October’s fall and was marginal.
On the price front, rising input costs continued to spark cost pressures on manufacturers and in order to pass on their cost burdens to clients, firms raised output charges thereby extending the period of inflation to seven months. The survey found that the input costs increased for the twenty-ninth month during February, with higher prices seen in the products such as steel, chemicals and fuel, while output price inflation was the sharpest since last February, although it’s modest.
Start Research-backed Investing ...Now. Subscribe to Sapphire
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: