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Following a moderation in growth during December, Indian goods producers kicked off year 2025 on a robust note.
With new orders rising at the quickest pace since last July, fuelled by the steepest upturn in exports in nearly 14 years, there was a stronger expansion in output, showed HSBC India Manufacturing PMI for January. "India's final manufacturing PMI marked a six-month high in January. Domestic and export demand were both strong, supporting new orders growth. The employment PMI suggested robust job creation in the manufacturing industry, as the index increased to its highest level since the series was created. Input cost inflation eased for a second month, relieving pressure on manufacturers to raise final output prices," said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC. Pressures emanating from costs retreated to their weakest in 11 months, but selling prices rose solidly amid buoyant demand and business confidence having strengthened, the monthly PMI report said. Rising from December's one-year low of 56.4 to 57.7 in January, the Purchasing Managers Index signalled a robust improvement in the health of the sector. The rate of expansion was the quickest since last July and outpaced its long-run average The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease. Goods producers welcomed another substantial increase in new orders, which they attributed to better domestic demand and a pick-up in international sales. Total new business expanded at the fastest rate in six months. International demand for Indian goods strengthened in January, with panellists noting gains from across the globe. Notably, the rate of expansion in new export orders was the best seen in just under 14 years, the PMI report noted. Subsequently, manufacturers in India continued to scale up production volumes. The latest increase was substantial and the fastest since October 2024. Companies turned more optimistic about output prospects, with nearly 32 per cent of firms forecasting growth and just 1 per cent expecting a reduction, the monthly survey found. Robust sales gains and upbeat forecasts prompted companies to recruit additional workers at the start of the fourth fiscal quarter (January-March), it asserted. (ANI)
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