عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

PMI Says Turkish Manufacturing Activity Contracts in August

FILE PHOTO-Alkan shoe sole manufacturer workers work in the factory at Antakya Organize Sanayi Bolgesi industrial complex in Belen, Hatay province, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera Purchase Licensing Rights
FILE PHOTO-Alkan shoe sole manufacturer workers work in the factory at Antakya Organize Sanayi Bolgesi industrial complex in Belen, Hatay province, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera Purchase Licensing Rights
TT
TT

PMI Says Turkish Manufacturing Activity Contracts in August

FILE PHOTO-Alkan shoe sole manufacturer workers work in the factory at Antakya Organize Sanayi Bolgesi industrial complex in Belen, Hatay province, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera Purchase Licensing Rights
FILE PHOTO-Alkan shoe sole manufacturer workers work in the factory at Antakya Organize Sanayi Bolgesi industrial complex in Belen, Hatay province, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera Purchase Licensing Rights

Turkish factory activity contracted for the fifth month in a row in August as a slowdown in demand caused firms to scale back output, employment and purchasing activity.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Turkish manufacturing ticked up to 47.8 from 47.2 in July, according to a survey by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global, still standing below the 50-point level that marks growth in activity, Reuters reported.

Although new export orders returned to growth for the first time in more than a year, challenging market conditions led to a further softening of total new orders, the survey showed. Some firms reported that the slowdown in demand led them to reduce workforce numbers.

Input costs continued to rise with currency weakness being the main factor behind higher prices, according to the survey, and manufacturers in turn raised their output prices in August.

Firms were reluctant to hold inventories due to a slowdown in new orders, reducing their holdings of both purchases and finished goods, the survey showed.

"The subdued overall demand picture led to further scaling back of production, employment and purchasing," Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.

"Hopefully, the nascent recovery in exports seen in August will solidify in the months ahead and spread more widely to help the sector move into recovery mode."

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
TT
TT

Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russia's central bank has left its benchmark interest rate at 21%, holding off on further increases as it struggles to snuff out inflation fueled by the government's spending on the war against Ukraine.
The decision comes amid criticism from influential business figures, including tycoons close to the Kremlin, that high rates are putting the brakes on business activity and the economy.
According to The Associated Press, the central bank said in a statement that credit conditions had tightened “more than envisaged” by the October rate hike that brought the benchmark to its current record level.
The bank said it would assess the need for any future increases at its next meeting and that inflation was expected to fall to an annual 4% next year from its current 9.5%
Factories are running three shifts making everything from vehicles to clothing for the military, while a labor shortage is driving up wages and fat enlistment bonuses are putting more rubles in people's bank accounts to spend. All that is driving up prices.
On top of that, the weakening Russian ruble raises the prices of imported goods like cars and consumer electronics from China, which has become Russia's biggest trade partner since Western sanctions disrupted economic relations with Europe and the US.
High rates can dampen inflation but also make it more expensive for businesses to get the credit they need to operate and invest.
Critics of the central bank rates and its Governor Elvira Nabiullina have included Sergei Chemezov, the head of state-controlled defense and technology conglomerate Rostec, and steel magnate Alexei Mordashov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened his annual news conference on Thursday by saying the economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year and that while inflation is “an alarming sign," wages have risen at the same rate and that "on the whole, this situation is stable and secure.”
He acknowledged there had been criticism of the central bank, saying that “some experts believe that the Central Bank could have been more effective and could have started using certain instruments earlier.”
Nabiullina said in November that while the economy is growing, “the rise in prices for the vast majority of goods and services shows that demand is outrunning the expansion of economic capacity and the economy’s potential.”
Russia's military spending is enabled by oil exports, which have shifted from Europe to new customers in India and China who aren't observing sanctions such as a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil sales.