Turkey's manufacturing index recovers in February

By Fatih Erkan Dogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for the manufacturing sector was 49.7 in February, a five-month high, according to a report from IHS Markit on Wednesday.

An Istanbul Chamber of Industry PMI Manufacturing Index report conducted in cooperation with IHS Markit showed a 1-point advance from the previous month, signaling a rebalancing of the country’s manufacturing sector.

Turkey's PMI for the manufacturing sector is seen as an important gauge in tracking the health of the sector, with values below 50 points showing contraction while above indicates expansion.

“The Turkish PMI rose to 49.7 in February, signaling a near-stabilization of the Turkish manufacturing sector. Encouragingly, output rose during the month and job creation resumed,” Trevor Balchin, senior economist at IHS Markit said.

“The latest survey results also signaled weaker inflation than in recent months, although price pressures remained strong overall,” he added.

Among the five key PMI sub-indexes, the production index rose to highest level since Jan. 2016, the employment index saw its sixth monthly improvement in the last seven months, the new orders index rose to a four-month high, driving the recovery in main benchmark index, according to the report.