PH manufacturing sector nears stability in November

Indices above 50 show increased activities in the manufacturing sector and below 50 reflect deterioration. (File photo: Philippine News Agency)

MANILA – The country’s manufacturing sector was nearing stable conditions in November, IHS Markit Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey reported Tuesday.

Domestic manufacturing PMI last month improved to 49.9 from a 48.5 score in October.

Indices above 50 show increased activities in the manufacturing sector and below 50 reflect deterioration.

“The Filipino manufacturing sector showed promising signs of renewed recovery momentum in November as the headline PMI figure neared stabilization. Production rose for the first time since June as foreign demand improved notably from that seen in October,” IHS Markit economist Shreeya Praya said.

The report added production volumes went up midway through the last quarter of the year.

Surveyed firms attributed this improvement in output to the reopening of businesses and softer reduction in new orders.

The IHS Markit survey also highlighted that job shedding in November eases to the slowest pace in nine months.

“Encouragingly, firms registered (the) slowest drop in employment in the current nine-month sequence of decline despite a steep depletion in backlogs of work,” Praya added.

Meanwhile, the recent developments on the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines raised hopes among Philippine-based manufacturers as their business outlook for the next 12 months remained positive.

“Nevertheless, the path to recovery may not be smooth. The health of the sector rests on the number of Covid-19 cases and the impact the virus has on the global economy. Whilst, vaccine developments look promising, it is still unclear when restrictions will come to a complete end,” Praya said.