Factory orders rise fastest since Dec. 2017

The country’s manufacturing sector activity edged higher in January as companies continued to scale up production and employment, driven by the fastest rise in factory orders since December 2017, a monthly survey said on Friday.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased from 53.2 in December to 53.9 in January, indicating stronger improvement in the health of the goods producing sector.

This is the 18th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.

According to the survey, the increase in factory orders was the strongest seen in 13 months. Besides, favourable economic conditions, strengthening demand and sales growth also picked up in January.