Philippines: Manufacturing PMI increases in February
The IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.8 in February from January’s 50.0. As a result, the index rose above the 50-threshold, signaling an improvement in business conditions from the previous month.
The improved reading came amid renewed growth in output and new orders. The former increased at the fastest rate in over three years, as the economy recovered from an Omicron-induced spike in Covid-19 cases and the effects of Typhoon Rai. An easing of raw material shortages also likely boosted production, with supplier delivery times increasing by the smallest extent in a year. Meanwhile, the increase in new orders came amid improved domestic and external demand, with export demand rebounding in the month. To support such sharp output growth, purchasing activity expanded at the highest level in over three years. Meanwhile, business sentiment was positive in the month, amid expectations of waning pandemic-related economic disruption.
IHS Markit’s Shreeya Patel commented on the outlook:
“There were […] areas of concern surrounding prices and employment. Inflationary pressures were historically elevated which forced firms to push through hikes in selling charges. At the same time, voluntary resignations continued, which has been seen since the pandemic hit the Philippines’ economy two years ago. Fortunately, production does not seem to have been impacted by staff shortages and firms are keeping backlogs at bay.”