March results of Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) Turkey Manufacturing PMI Survey were announced.
The following evaluations were made in the statement:
* Headline PMI, which was 50.2 in February, realized at the threshold level of 50 with a slight decline in March, indicating a generally stable course in operating conditions.
* The stagnation in the sector’s performance stemmed from the small-scale changes in the main components of the headline index. In March, manufacturing industry production recorded a very limited increase, while the decline in new orders and employment volumes continued but came close to a halt.
* The slowdown in new orders was recorded at the lowest rate in the last nine months. This relative improvement in the demand environment encouraged some firms to increase production and purchasing activities.
* Production and input purchases increased for the second consecutive month, while the expansion in purchasing activity was more pronounced than in February. Nevertheless, both input and final product inventories continued to fall at the end of the first quarter. Some firms faced delays in input purchases due to disruptions in the Red Sea and delivery times increased for the third consecutive month.
* The depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar continued to be the main driver of higher input prices in the sector, with some firms also reporting higher raw material costs. Although input cost inflation was realized at the mildest level of the last three months, it remained high.
* Selling price inflation was also at a three-month low in March, but the rate of inflation remained significant and above the series average.
Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:
* “March was a month of stabilization for Turkish manufacturers, and this improvement in the overall picture helped sustain a moderate increase in production and purchasing activity. The improvement in the overall picture has led to a continued moderate increase in production and purchasing activity. If this trend in demand continues, we expect growth to gain momentum as we enter the second quarter of the year.