MOSCOW: Russia’s manufacturing activity declined in February, with export orders contracting at the fastest rate in 19 months, the Markit purchasing managers index (PMI) showed here the other day.
The index’s headline figure fell to 49.3 in February from 49.8 in January, staying below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction for the third consecutive month.
Russian goods producers recorded a slight expansion in new business volumes during February, driven by the domestic market, as new export orders declined to 43.5 from 45.2, highlighting the difficulty facing Russian goods exporters.
“Disappointingly for goods producers, scrutinizing the survey data leaves little encouraging news,” said Samuel Agass, an economist at Markit, which compiles the survey.
“With both low oil prices and the instability of the rouble also acting as factors for concern, the upcoming months look set to be challenging for the sector.”
Companies shed jobs in the manufacturing sector for the 32nd month in a row. However, the rate of job cutting eased to the lowest since November.
Manufacturing accounts for about 16 percent of Russia’s economy.
