Türkiye’s manufacturing PMI improves in August

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) remained below the 50 no-change mark in August but improved compared to July.

The headline PMI, compiled by S&P Global, picked up to 47.3 from 45.9 in July, the survey showed on Sept. 1.

Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement of the sector.

The latest reading pointed to a solid moderation in business conditions in the sector, albeit one that was the least pronounced since April, said S&P Global.

“Although Turkish manufacturers continued to face a challenging market environment in August, there were some signs of pressures easing as output and new orders moderated to a lesser extent than in July,” it added.

“Workloads were such, however, that firms continued to scale back employment and purchasing activity. Meanwhile, the rate of input cost inflation quickened slightly, but output prices rose at the slowest pace in the year-to-date,” it said.

Input costs increased sharply in August, and at a slightly faster pace than in July, with respondents mainly linking higher input prices to currency weakness, according to the survey.

There were, however, some signs of positivity from the latest PMI survey, which showed the respective slowdowns in output and new orders losing steam, commented Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“If these trends continue in the months ahead, then the sector could be looking brighter as we head towards the end of the year,” Harker said.