India’s manufacturing growth expands at slowest pace in 30-months

03 Oct 2011 Evaluate

Manufacturing sector activity in India expanded at the slowest pace in two and half a year, in the month of September as the non-stop rate hike by Indian central bank since March 2010 has hit the growth of new orders. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index declined to 50.4 in September, from 52.6 in August. A number above 50 on the index signals expansion in the sector.

Leif Eskesen, economist at HSBC said, ‘growth momentum in India's manufacturing sector eased further in September. This was driven by weaker orders, with export orders still contracting due to the weaker global economic conditions. While the persistent inflation pressures support RBI's tightening bias, the slowdown in manufacturing growth suggests that the end to the tightening cycle is at least now in sight, he added.

September’s readings were the lowest for domestic manufacturing sector since March 2009. The growth rate in new orders in September slowed for the sixth consecutive month as deteriorating economic conditions on both sides of the Atlantic led to contraction in export orders.  With developed economies worryingly inching nearer to yet another recession, emerging markets like India and China which have been touted as the global growth engines are also facing the crunch.

Domestically, the input price inflation rate moderated since August to an 11-month low while charges increased at a marked rate that was broadly unchanged from the prior period. The inflationary pressures in the manufacturing sector continues to remain substantial despite the Reserve Bank of India's sustained monetary tightening measures to tame the rate of price rise. The central bank has raised its key lending rates 12 times since March 2010 and experts are of the belief that possibly only one or two rate hikes are left in RBI’s arsenal.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×