India`s manufacturing activity eases to 56.3 in February
After a strong start to 2025, India's manufacturing activity grew at slow pace in the month of February. Despite slowing to the weakest since December 2023, rates of expansion in output and sales remained elevated in the context of the survey's 20-year history. Favourable domestic and international demand prompted firms to increase purchasing activity and hire extra workers at above-trend rates.
According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased to 56.3 in February as against 57.7 in January. New business intakes rose in the reported month, on the back of strong client demand and efforts to price better than their competitors. The overall pace of growth receded to the slowest since December 2023, but was above its long-run average.
New export orders rose strongly in February, with robust global demand for goods, however growth was softer than January's near 14-year high. In response to the upturn in new orders, manufacturers continued to expand their workforce numbers in February, extending the current period of employment growth to a year. Besides, manufacturers again ramped up purchasing activities, but the pace of expansion eased to a 14-month low.
On the price front, Indian manufacturers faced another rise in input costs, due to surge in price of bamboo, leather, marketing, rubber and Telecom prices. But, the overall rate of inflation eased for the third straight month to its weakest in a year. Concurrently, the rate of charge inflation was little-changed from January, remaining above both its long-run average and that seen for input costs.
The report also noted that unfinished business rose further in February, as demand growth continued to outpace increases in production. The rate of backlog accumulation was slight, but nevertheless reached its highest since January 2024. Meanwhile, firms expressed strong optimism about growth prospects for the coming year, with client demand expected to remain positive and support output.
