In what could be seen as a sign of revival, HSBC India has said that companies have raised their production level for the first time in the last seven months.

This resulted in Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) to climb to above 50 level in November.

HSBC India Purchasing Managers’ Index is a composite index depicting operating conditions in the manufacturing sector. It rose to 51.3 in November from 49.6 in October.

For the first time after July, the index is above 50. This also shows that output has increased so as new orders, while there is modest growth of input buying.

“Manufacturing activity picked up led by a rise in new domestic orders, which helped pull up output growth. Encouragingly, input and output price inflation eased, which, if sustained, could imply that the RBI is getting closer to the end of its tightening cycle, although it may still need to notch rates up a bit further,” the Chief Economist (India and Asean) of HSBC, Leif Eskesen, said.

Consumer goods top performer

After contracting in each of the past three months, purchasing activity rose in November. However, the overall rate of expansion was modest and weaker than the series average. By sector, the strongest increase was recorded at consumer goods, followed closely by intermediate goods.

Manufacturing employment increased for the second month running in November. The overall rise in staffing levels mainly reflected growth in the consumer goods sector. There was evidence of capacity constraint at Indian manufacturers in November, as backlogs of work rose for the 16th consecutive month and at the fastest rate since July. Anecdotal evidence suggested that unfinished business plan rose in tandem with new order growth and power outages.

Inflationary pressures ease

Inflationary pressures in the Indian manufacturing economy softened in November.

Input costs rose at weaker rates across all the sectors, being monitored for the survey.

>shishir.s@thehindu.co.in

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