Turkey: PMI rises to a seven-month high in August
The Istanbul Chamber of Industry Turkey Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose from 54.0 in July to a seven-month high of 54.1 in August. As such, the index moved further north of the neutral 50-threshold that separates an overall improvement in manufacturing conditions from a contraction over the prior month.
The uptick in the headline reading came on the heels of firming customer demand amid the reopening on the economy in July. New orders rose solidly as a consequence, while new export orders jumped steeply. In turn, output expanded for the third month running. Greater workloads drove firms to step up purchasing activity and onboard more staff. On the price front, input costs rose notably due to supply-side constraints, which weighed on firms’ ability to secure inputs, and output prices increased in turn. Stocks of purchases and finished goods rose for the first time in one and nearly six years, respectively.
Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit, commented:
“Despite the numerous challenges being faced by manufacturers at present, Turkish firms were able to sustain growth for a third successive month […]. Firms will be hoping that some of these constraints start to ease over the course of the rest of the year so that their full growth potential can be realised.”