By Olga Razumovskaya
MOSCOW--The pace of Russian manufacturing growth faltered in March while inflationary pressures remained subdued, data from the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for the month showed Monday.
Russia's seasonally adjusted manufacturing PMI declined to 50.8 from 52.0, the second-lowest level in the past 12 months.
"The...survey revealed a broad-based weakening of growth momentum in March. A deeper decline in new export orders and more significant staff level reduction [both on a seasonally-adjusted basis] is particularly concerning," Alexander Morozov, chief economist for Russia and CIS at HSBC, said in an accompanying statement.
"In this respect, slower yet still robust growth of new domestic orders gives some comfort about continued expansion in the coming months. Producers remain cautious in assessing the prospects for sustainable growth of demand for their goods. They seem to prefer charging more for their goods than increasing output more vigorously," he added.
Inflationary pressures remained weak in March. HSBC said that average input prices rose for the fiftieth consecutive month. "Input prices rose at only 11% of firms, mostly those operating in the consumer goods sector. Average prices charged for Russian manufactured goods rose in March, following a marginal fall the previous month. That said, the rate of output price inflation was weak," said HSBC.
If manufacturers are right, "we should see a further moderation of demand growth and weaker output data. If they are wrong, we should expect stronger output growth once producers improve their confidence in demand for their goods," Mr. Morozov said. Manufacturers "have been wrong so far. Will they be right this time? Maybe, if we see a further decline in oil prices," he added.
Write to Olga Razumovskaya olga.razumovskaya@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2013 03:58 ET (07:58 GMT)
MOSCOW--The pace of Russian manufacturing growth faltered in March while inflationary pressures remained subdued, data from the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for the month showed Monday.
Russia's seasonally adjusted manufacturing PMI declined to 50.8 from 52.0, the second-lowest level in the past 12 months.
"The...survey revealed a broad-based weakening of growth momentum in March. A deeper decline in new export orders and more significant staff level reduction [both on a seasonally-adjusted basis] is particularly concerning," Alexander Morozov, chief economist for Russia and CIS at HSBC, said in an accompanying statement.
"In this respect, slower yet still robust growth of new domestic orders gives some comfort about continued expansion in the coming months. Producers remain cautious in assessing the prospects for sustainable growth of demand for their goods. They seem to prefer charging more for their goods than increasing output more vigorously," he added.
Inflationary pressures remained weak in March. HSBC said that average input prices rose for the fiftieth consecutive month. "Input prices rose at only 11% of firms, mostly those operating in the consumer goods sector. Average prices charged for Russian manufactured goods rose in March, following a marginal fall the previous month. That said, the rate of output price inflation was weak," said HSBC.
If manufacturers are right, "we should see a further moderation of demand growth and weaker output data. If they are wrong, we should expect stronger output growth once producers improve their confidence in demand for their goods," Mr. Morozov said. Manufacturers "have been wrong so far. Will they be right this time? Maybe, if we see a further decline in oil prices," he added.
Write to Olga Razumovskaya olga.razumovskaya@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2013 03:58 ET (07:58 GMT)
