Local producers, services record sustained improvement in business conditions

•PMI inches further indicating growth

Manufacturers and service providers have reported sustained improvement in overall business conditions since April and May 2017 respectively, as the Manufacturing PMI in the month of April stood at 56.9 index points, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 13th consecutive month.

Similarly, the composite PMI for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 57.5 points last month, indicating expansion in the Non-manufacturing PMI for the 12th consecutive month.

Indeed, the details of the survey suggest that output growth maintained a positive trajectory in the second quarter of the year.The manufacturing index grew at a faster rate when compared to the index in the previous month. Of the 15 subsectors surveyed, 12 reported growth in the review month in the following order : Petroleum & coal products, Electrical equipment, Appliances & components, Printing & related support activities, Textile apparel leather & footwear, Fabricated metal products, Chemical & pharmaceutical products, Food, beverage & tobacco products, Paper products, Furniture & related products, Plastics & rubber products, Transportation equipment.

The Cement sub-sector remained unchanged, while the Non-metallic minerals and Primary metal subsectors declined in the review month.At 58.6 points, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the fourteenth consecutive month in April 2018. The index indicated a slower growth in the current month, when compared to its level in the preceding month.

At 55.8 points, new orders index grew for the thirteenth consecutive month, indicating increase in new orders in April 2018. Seven subsectors reported growth, four remained unchanged while four contracted in the review month.

In terms of inventories, the Manufacturing sector inventories index grew for the thirteenth consecutive month in April 2018. At 59.5 points, the index grew at a faster rate when compared to its level in the previous month.

At 58.8 points, the business activity index grew for the thirteenth consecutive month, indicating expansion in business activity in April 2018. The index grew at a faster rate when compared to its level in the previous month.