Turkey: Manufacturing PMI rises in November

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector posted 44.7 in November, up for a second successive month, according to a monthly business survey on Monday.</p> <p>An Istanbul Chamber of Industry PMI report conducted in cooperation with IHS Markit said marked reductions in inflationary pressures provided some respite for manufacturers in November.</p> <p>&quot;Business conditions remained challenging, leading to further moderations in output and new orders, but the rates at which they slowed were softer than in October,&quot; the report said.</p> <p>Last month, the PMI climbed 0.4 points compared to October's index value of 44.3.</p> <p>&quot;Although the reading indicated a further moderation of business conditions, the extent of the slowdown was the weakest in three months.</p> <p>&quot;Gradual improvements in the lira exchange rate led to a sharp slowdown in rates of both input cost and output price inflation in November,&quot; it said.</p> <p>The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate hit a four-month low last week — around 5.16 — improved from average USD/TRY rates of 6.38 in September, 5.87 in October, and 5.38 in November overall.</p> <p>Turkey saw a 21.62-percent annual rise in consumer prices in November, falling 3.62 percentage points from 25.24 percent in October.</p> <p>&quot;Subdued demand conditions led manufacturers to prefer using existing inventories to support production as opposed to purchasing new inputs,&quot; the report said. </p> <p>&quot;As a result, both input buying and stocks of purchases moderated over the month,&quot; it added.</p> <p>The manufacturing PMI — derived from indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases — is a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance. </p> <p>An index value above 50 indicates the sector is growing, while a figure below 50 signals a contraction. </p> <p>