Turkish factory activity contracts in Dec but shows improvement -PMI

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish factory activity contracted for the 10th month running in December but showed some signs of improvement from previous months as output and new orders fell more slowly, a survey showed on Monday.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 48.1 in December, up from 45.7 in November, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global said.

While December’s reading was the highest since June, it remained below the 50-point line that separates contractions from expansions in activity.

Improvement was evident in demand, while there were some reports of inflationary pressures continuing to weigh, the panel of contributors said, adding that global market weakness had led to new export orders moderating more than total new business.

“There were some tentative signs of improvement in the latest PMI survey, which if continued into the new year could see the Turkish manufacturing sector gaining some ground,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“While demand remains fragile, particularly internationally, cost pressures are not as extreme as earlier in 2022 and supply-chain conditions are improving, hopefully providing a tailwind to the sector heading into 2023.”

Input buying moderated at a much slower pace than a month earlier, while the signs of improvement supported a second consecutive month of employment growth, with staffing levels showing the sharpest rise in 10 months, the panel of contributors said.

Input cost inflation remained relatively muted in December, while output prices rose at the same pace as in the previous survey period at a rate much softer than earlier in the year, the panel said.

Suppliers’ delivery times shortened to one of the greatest extents on record due to weak demand for inputs and reduced port disruption, they added.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)