Signaling a faster improvement in business conditions across the country’s goods-producing sector compared to the previous March month, the Indian manufacturing activity expanded further in April, on the back of faster expansions in output and new orders. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - surged to 51.6 in April from 51.0 in March. Besides, the reading remained above the watershed 50 mark indicating expansion for the ninth consecutive month.
As per the survey report, the output picked-up from March’s five-month low with solid expansion on account of favourable demand conditions but it was slightly below the average for the current nine-month period of expansion. The report further showed that the new business grew for the sixth consecutive month at a modest rate , while the new export orders also rose for the sixth successive month in April, albeit only marginally. It also found that outstanding work rose during April and delayed payments from clients partly led to the latest increase in backlogs.
On the price front, the inflationary pressures continued to ease in the reported month, as input costs and output charges rose at the softer pace and were weakest since September 2017 and July 2017, respectively. Further, payroll numbers also got improved during April on greater production requirements coupled with improved demand conditions, however the growth was marginal.