Manufacturing conditions in India improve for the ninth consecutive month, says Nikkei

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) index rose from 51.0 to 51.6 in April 2018 registering improvement for the ninth consecutive month.

Aashna Dodhia, economist, IHS Markit said, ““Putting the PMI data under a magnifying glass, consumer goods was again the bright spot, with output growth being the fastest among all the three market groups."

She added, “Business sentiment was at the strongest level seen since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017, driven by expectations that underlying demand will improve further over the next 12 months, and subsequently firms reported a renewed increase in job recruitment.”

The Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in over 400 industrial companies. It is a composite index based on five of the individual indexes with the following weights: New Orders - 0.3, Output - 0.25, Employment - 0.2, Suppliers' Delivery Times - 0.15, Stock of Items Purchased - 0.1, with the Delivery Times Index inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction.

IHS Markit, in a statement said, "Greater production requirements stimulated job creation and encouraged companies to engage in input buying."

It said, "A key factor contributing to the upward movement in the headline PMI index was a solid rise in output."

"Business sentiment was at the strongest level seen since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017. Optimism reflected expectations that new business and demand conditions will improve over the coming 12 months, according to panellists," the report concluded.