December saw softer moderations in output and new orders, while employment increased at the fastest pace since February 2022. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures remained much more muted than earlier in the year, according to the survey’s data.

Turkiye’s headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 48.1 in December 2022, up from 45.7 in November 2022, according to the PMI survey data from Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global. The country’s December PMI reading was the highest since June 2022 and pointed to a modest softening in the health of the manufacturing sector.

Signs of improvement were evident in terms of demand, with total new orders slowing to the joint least extent in almost a year. That said, there were some reports that inflationary pressures continued to weigh on demand, while global market weakness meant that new export orders moderated to a greater extent than total new business.

Manufacturing production also eased to a lesser extent in December, with the latest slowdown the weakest since February 2022. Panellists linked the easing of output to a combination of price pressures and soft demand. However, other respondents noted some signs of improvement.

Similarly, input buying moderated to a much softer extent than in November. Meanwhile, these signs of improvement supported a second successive month of employment growth. In fact, the rise in staffing levels was the sharpest in ten months.

After having slowed to a three-year low in November, the rate of input cost inflation remained relatively muted in December. In turn, output prices rose at the same pace as in the previous survey period, with the rate of inflation much softer than seen earlier in the year.

As was the case in November, suppliers’ delivery times shortened to one of the greatest extents on record amid reports of weak demand for inputs and reduced port disruption.

Finally, an eighth successive rise in stocks of finished goods extended the longest sequence of accumulation in the survey’s history but was only fractional.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)