Technicians work on a bus at a production line of Turkey’s heavy commercial and armored vehicle manufacturer Otokar factory in Arifiye, a town in Sakarya province, Turkey, July 13, 2023. REUTERS
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish factory activity contracted for the eighth month in a row in November with output and new orders moderating, although the sector showed signs of recovery, a business survey showed on Monday.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Turkish manufacturing rose to 48.3 in November from 45.8 in October, according to a survey by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global, remaining below the 50-point level denoting growth.
The sector’s health has declined in each survey period since April.
The rise in the headline index reflected tentative signs of demand improvement. Although firms continued to face challenges securing new business, rates of moderation in both total new orders and new export business eased, the survey showed.
Employment increased after nine months of moderation, the panel showed. Firms were helped by an easing of inflationary pressures, with rise in input costs and output prices softening.
Input buying and stocks of purchases moderated while stocks of finished goods were scaled back to the largest extent in almost three years, the panel showed.
“There were definite signs of improvement in Turkish manufacturing…the latest figures are consistent with increases in official manufacturing production data,” said Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“A waning inflationary environment likely played a role in the improvements seen in November, with the slowest increase in output prices for five years enticing some customers to make new orders. These inflation trends will hopefully continue in the months ahead, helping to stimulate demand further”.
Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Toby Chopra
