Turkey: Manufacturing PMI stable in December
Turkish manufacturing-sector business conditions deteriorated at the same pace in December compared to November, with the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remaining at 49.5 in December. The index, which is produced by IHS Markit, therefore stayed below the neutral 50-threshold.
The unchanged print reflected rising production levels owing to encouraging new orders dynamics, although new business inflows slowed marginally. This was in part due to easing new export orders. Job creation softened as demand dynamics remained feeble nonetheless, with backlogs of work continuing to be reduced. More positively, purchasing activity picked up pace in line with the rise in output. Looking at prices, currency weakness continued to drive input price inflation and this was passed onto consumers, with output prices rising for the first time in four months.
Meanwhile, the capacity utilization rate for the sector fell from 77.2% in November to 77.0% in December.