Though business confidence was the highest in 10 months, the country’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) shed in December last year.
According to IHS Markit, the country’s manufacturing PMI in December 2020 declined to 49.2 from 49.9 in November 2020.
“Firms registered a modest contraction in output volumes amid ongoing restrictions implemented to curb the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases,” IHS Markit said.
The survey attributed further deterioration of the local manufacturing sector to job shedding while new orders were broadly unchanged.
Scores below 50 show deterioration of the sector while above the neutral score reflect improvement.
Ongoing lockdown restrictions and poor weather conditions contributed to output volume decline last month.
“Job shedding persisted at a strong rate which firms linked to restructuring efforts and voluntary resignations,” the IHS Markit survey added.
Photo: PNA