The country’s manufacturing sector, as reflected by the purchasing managers’ index (PMI), continued to grow in October this year, S&P Global said on Monday.
The S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing PMI posted a score of 52.9 last month, indicating an improvement in the sector’s health for 14th straight month.
S&P Global said that while the index eased from the 53.7 recorded in September, “it was the second-highest reading since January 2023, and indicated a historically solid improvement in the sector.”
S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Maryam Baluch said the expansion in new orders was robust, allowing goods producers to raise their output.
“More encouragingly, employment became the real stand-out this month, with the rate of job creation the strongest in over seven years,” she said.
Baluch, however, said manufacturing firms revealed supply-side challenges, with material shortages resulting in longer delivery times, and cooling buying activity.
“It was also one of the key factors for rising input prices, which was further exacerbated by the depreciation of the peso against the dollar,” she added.
“Nonetheless, firms remain optimistic with more than half of respondents anticipating expansion in the year ahead.”
The survey showed that manufacturers are hopeful that current demand trends will be sustained in the coming 12 months, allowing for production growth.
S&P Global said the level of confidence improved to a five-month high in October. (PNA)