Manufacturing Growth In India Picks In January; PMI Hits 8-Year High

Manufacturing activity in India in the month of January expanded at its fastest pace in eight years, a private survey showed on Monday. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.3 in January from 52.7 in December, the highest reading since February 2012.

In January the economy showed signs of revival with growth in new business, output, exports, input buying and employment as well as an increase in demand.

The PMI reading has stayed above the 50-mark, that separates growth from contraction, for the 30th straight month.

"The PMI results show that a notable rebound in demand boosted the growth of sales, input buying, production and employment as firms focused on rebuilding their inventories and expanding their capacities in anticipation of further increases in new business," said Pollyanna De Lima, principal economist at IHS Markit in a news release.

The rise in total sales was supported by demand from external markets and was noted as the fastest increase in new export orders since November 2018.

Further, the Indian manufacturers were more upbeat about the year-ahead outlook for production. Optimism stemmed from forecasts of better demand, new client wins, marketing efforts, capacity expansion and new product releases.