Turkey: Manufacturing PMI falls to seven-month low in March due to Covid-19
Operating conditions in the Turkish manufacturing sector deteriorated at the close of the first quarter owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Turkey Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to a seven-month low of 48.1 in March from 52.4 in February.
The deterioration came on the back of moderating output and new orders, while purchasing activity was scaled back. Output eased for the first time in five months on the back of weakening domestic and foreign demand, and the drop in new orders ended a two-month streak of expansion. More positively, employment increased in the month. Turning to prices, input price inflation remained marked due to currency weakness and some supply shortages amid disrupted supply chains. Consequently, output price inflation rose at the strongest pace in nearly a year-and-a-half.
Commenting on the data, Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit, which produced the index, stated: “The Covid-19 pandemic comes at a time when the Turkish manufacturing sector was building good growth momentum, and is therefore a bitter blow for firms.”
The sector’s capacity utilization rate, meanwhile, fell from 76.0% in February to 75.3% in March.