Data published Friday found that a faster uptick in new business and sustained growth of employment figures, as well as a steadying of new export orders, corresponded to a quiet increase in USA manufacturing in March.
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Consumer inflation cooled to 5.18 per cent in February and, coupled with the government’s adherence to fiscal consolidation in its budget, prompted the Reserve Bank of India to cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to a more than five-year low of 6.50 per cent on Tuesday.
“As a result, volumes of new work disappointed in March as order book growth slipped for the third month in a row and reached its weakest since the pre-election blip a year ago”.
The New Orders Index registered 56.7 points, up 1.2 points from the previous month.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: “The eurozone economy failed to show any significant gain in momentum in March”.
“In detail, the amount of work in the pipeline rose only marginally and companies took a more cautious approach with regards to hiring policies, with the rate of job creation the weakest since last July”.
Industry-insiders cited global economic uncertainty and the upcoming EU Referendum on 23 June as factors “undermining service sector business expectations”, as optimism fell to a three-year low.
The electronics sector posted a PMI reading of 49 last month, up slightly from 48.2 in February. There were improvements in both new orders and factory output in the sector, said SIPMM.
But in Spain, the PMIs continue to perform well.
However, the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for March came in at an eight-month high of 52.4.
Markit said the United Kingdom economy had slowed in the first quarter of the year.
But employment in the electronics sector continued to contract for the 11th straight month, as most manufacturers struggled to maintain a lean and productive workforce in an uncertain global business environment, said the report. The latest data further underscores the fact that economic activities are yet to materially pick up from the slow start to the year.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected the gauge to inch up to 51.2 from a flash reading of 51.0.
The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has urged policymakers to focus on boosting growth, pointing out that downside risks are increasing without decisive action.
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“I have to wait till June to make another judgment call”.
