Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Private sector activity eased a bit in June in India amid geo-political tensions, while overall new orders volumes continued to rise strongly this month, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data showed on June 23.
The Growth of manufacturing output softened a tad as inventory-building lost steam after a few hectic months. June data indicated a slowdown in growth of demand for Indian goods and services, restricting the extent to which output levels were raised. Concurrently, there was a softer expansion in aggregate employment, according to latest HSBC Flash PMI figures.
Falling from 59.3 in May to a preliminary reading of 57.4 in June, the HSBC Flash India PMI Composite Output Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India’s manufacturing and service sectors – signalled a sharp rate of expansion that was nevertheless the weakest since March.
According to panel members, cost pressures and softening demand conditions curbed the latest upturn in business activity.
“Private sector activity eased a bit in June. New export orders remained resilient and the order-to-inventory ratio ticked up, pointing at resilient manufacturing activity down the line. Input costs across the private sector rose, but at the slowest pace in five months,” said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC.
Private sector companies continued to report month- on-month increases in their expenses, which they often associated with greater material prices.
