India's manufacturing activities remain strong in October: Survey
New Delhi: Manufacturing activities in India remained robust and price pressures were contained in October as new orders and production rose at a slower but stronger pace, according to a monthly survey released on Tuesday.
The seasonally-adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was up from 55.1 in September to 55.3 in October.
The October PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 16th straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 indicates contraction.
Firms were able to secure additional work in October, taking the current sequence of growth to 16 months, the survey said, adding that overall, factory orders increased at an above-trend pace that was nonetheless the weakest since June.
Looking ahead, Indian manufacturers remained confident of a rise in production volumes by October 2023. Predictions of better sales and marketing efforts were among the reasons cited for upbeat projections.
On the inflation front, cost burden rose at a broadly similar rate to September's 23-month low while selling charge inflation moderated to the weakest since February, as per the survey. On the employment front, there were signs of substantial capacity pressures at Indian goods producers as outstanding business volumes rose to the greatest extent in almost two years. Some firms responded to this by hiring extra
workers.