2019.12.3010:19:00UTC+00Russia Manufacturing PMI At 4-month High

Russia's manufacturing sector rose to the highest level in four months in December as output and orders declined at a slower pace, survey data from IHS Markit showed Monday.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 47.5 in December from 45.6 in November. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

The quarterly average for the final three months of 2019 indicated the weakest manufacturing performance for over a decade, IHS Markit said.

Output declined due to lackluster client demand and a fall in new order inflows. New orders volume decreased both domestically and globally amid a slump in client demand. New business from abroad fell for the eighth month in a row in December.

On the price front, output prices rose only fractionally and was the joint-slowest since April 2017 and input price inflation accelerated due to higher raw material prices.

Output expectations remained subdued, with the degree of confidence at the second-lowest for over two years in December.

The number of workforce contracted in December and backlogs of works decreased sharply.

Input buying declined for the fourth straight month in December and firms reduced both their pre- and post-production inventory levels further.

"The Russian manufacturing sector remained in the doldrums at the end of 2019, with December data further extending the current run of deteriorating manufacturing health," Sian Jones, Economist at IHS Markit, said.