Turkey’s manufacturing activity contracted the most in nearly six years in March, as output and new orders fell sharply, results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank showed Wednesday.
The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, dropped to 48.0 in March from 49.6 in the previous month. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.
The latest reading was the lowest since April 2009 and indicative of a marked overall deterioration in operating conditions.
New orders fell for the third straight month in March and the pace of contraction accelerated for the sharpest since August 2011. Similarly, new export orders declined further, despite the weakening of the lira against the US dollar.
Manufacturing output also declined for the third month running in March and at the strongest rate since April 2009, due to weakening inflows of new work.
Employment in the manufacturing sector stagnated in March, ending a sequence of continuous job creation in the sector that stretched back to June 2009.
On the price front, input price inflation accelerated sharply to the fastest since March last year, caused by the strengthening of US dollar. This forced manufacturers to increase their selling charges at the fastest rate since April 2014.
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