Russia's manufacturing sector remains in expansion territory in new year

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia's manufacturing sector remained in expansion territory in the new year, the latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report from S&P Global showed on Thursday.

"Growth was supported by further increases in output and new orders, though rates of expansion eased," it noted.

S&P stressed that demand growth for the sector softened as new export sales fell at the fastest pace since last July.

Meanwhile, the pace of input cost and output charge inflation decreased amid lower price hikes at suppliers, it noted.

"Nonetheless, stocks of purchases and finished goods dwindled as supply issues and a slower uptick in purchasing hampered stockbuilding," it added.

The PMI was at 52.4 in January, down from 54.6 in December, "to signal the weakest upturn in the health of the manufacturing sector since July 2023."

"Nonetheless, the latest improvement in operating conditions extended the current sequence of growth to 21 months," it added.