Manufacturing takes grim downturn in Nikkei PMI survey
Thailand’s manufacturing conditions deteriorated at the end of the first quarter following three months of improvement, a Nikkei Thailand Manufacturing study has found.
Falls in output, new orders and input inventories weighed on the company’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).
Factory job numbers fell further, while pressure on supply chains eased.
For the first time in the survey’s history, business confidence was negative.
On the price front, inflationary pressures softened in March.
The seasonally adjusted PMI fell from 50.9 in February to 49.1 in March, marking the first deterioration in the health of the sector for five months.
The latest reading was also the lowest since November 2016, although the rate of decline was marginal overall.
Moreover, the average PMI reading for the first quarter was the highest for a year.
The PMI is a composite indicator derived from survey questions on new orders, output, employment, inventories and suppliers’ delivery times, providing a quick snapshot of the current state of the manufacturing economy.
