According to Istanbul Chamber of Industry Turkey PMI™ Manufacturing Index, Markit said Turkey’s PMI posted 49.8 points in October this year, up from September’s 48.3 points and rising compared to 48.9 points recorded in October 2015. Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement of the sector.
The latest PMI™ survey data from Istanbul Chamber of Industry and IHS Markit signalled a near-stabilization of business conditions in the Turkish manufacturing sector in October. The seasonally adjusted Output and New Orders Indices remained below the no-change mark of 50.0 in October but rose to their highest since May. Having improved in August and September, manufacturing employment continued to increase in October. New export orders rose for the second time in three months, and purchasing of inputs by manufacturers grew at the strongest rate in nearly two years. The latest survey also indicated the sharpest rate of input price inflation since October 2015. “Restocking of inputs and hiring by goods producers suggests that output growth may resume in the coming months,” stated Trevor Balchin, senior economist at IHS Markit.
The seasonally adjusted Output Index remained below 50 in October but rose since September. As with the seasonally adjusted New Orders Index, the seasonally adjusted Output Index reached the highest since May.
In a sign that output may rise in the coming months, manufacturers stepped up their purchasing activity. The rate of growth was the fastest since November 2014, and stocks of purchases expanded for the first time in nine months.
The weak lira exerted upward pressure on manufacturing input prices in October, with the rate of inflation reaching a 12-month high. Finished product prices rose at the fastest rate in five months as a result.