Category Archives: Russia Manufacturing PMI

4/7/15: Russia Services and Manufacturing PMIs: June 2015


Manufacturing: 
  • "Operating conditions in Russia’s manufacturing sector continued to deteriorate modestly during June as output, new orders and employment all fell."
  • "Price levels continued to rise, albeit at historically muted rates, while shortages of working capital and input inventories meant firms continued to meet their orders directly from stock wherever possible."
  • Manufacturing PMI posted 48.7 in June, still in contracting mode, but a slight improvement on 47.6 in May. 
  • June marked 7th consecutive month of Manufacturing PMIs below 50.0
  • 3mo average through June was 48.4 against 3mo average through March at 48.5 and 3mo average through June 2014 at 48.8. In other words, the rate of contraction remained broadly the same in 3mo through June 2015 as in previous 3mo period.


Services:
  • Slight fall in service sector business activity during June as activity declined in spite of ongoing growth in new work
  • Extra capacity signalled in service sector as backlogs and employment both continue to fall
  • Service providers retain some optimism of pickup in activity in coming year
  • "Activity levels in Russia’s service sector were down marginally in June as ongoing growth in new business proved insufficiently strong relative to capacity levels. …Capacity was cut in response through to another marked fall in staffing levels."
  • Services PMI fell to 49.5 in June from 52.8 in May, reversing two months of above 50.0 readings in April-May.
  • 3mo MA through June 2015 was 51.0 against 3mo average through March 2015 at 43.8 - a marked improvement for the 2Q 2015. 3mo average through June 2014 was 47.6, which means that 2Q 2015 saw, on average, positive, but weak growth against sharp contraction in 1Q 2015 and moderate contraction in 2Q 2014.

Composite:
  • Markit Russia Composite PMI Index recorded a level of 49.5 in June, down from 51.6 in May and a three-month low. 
  • Composite PMI 3mo average through June 2015 was 50.6, well ahead of 45.7 average through 1Q 1015 and 48.3 average for 2Q 2014. Again, in quarterly terms, 2Q 2015 was stronger, signalling growth, compared to contractionary dynamics in 2Q 2014 and 1Q 2015.

Note: most recent trend (downward shift in overall activity across all two sectors) set in around October 2012 and run through February 2015. Since February 2015, we are seeing some improvements in the series, but no new trend, yet.

1/6/15: Russian Manufacturing PMI: May 2015


Russia Manufacturing PMI came in at disappointing 47.6 in May 2015, compared to 48.9 in April. This reverses slight improvement in April compared to March and puts PMI at the level matching the lowest reading since June 2009, achieved back in January 2015.


Weak conditions signal reversal of the slightly improving trends in the economy over 1Q 2015 (see following post on this).  We are now in 6th consecutive month of sub-50 PMI readings for the sector, and 24 months average PMI for Russian Manufacturing stands at 49.4.



7/5/15: Russian Services and Composite PMIs: April 2015

Russian Services and Composite PMIs are out today (Markit) and the results are quite positive.

Remember that Manufacturing PMI for April posted 48.9 compared to 48.1 in March, signalling less pronounced rate of contraction in the sector. Analysis of this is available here: http://trueeconomics.blogspot.ie/2015/05/5515-bric-manufacturing-pmi-further.html

Per Markit release: "The new orders component of the [Manufacturing] PMI was the primary drag on the headline index in April. Total new work fell at the sharpest pace for nearly six years, although the contraction was principally centred on capital goods producers… In contrast, consumer goods companies recorded solid growth… New export orders continued to fall markedly, extending the current period of contraction to twenty months. That said, some manufacturers found that clients were undertaking a degree of import substitution and choosing to purchase where possible from Russian producers rather than those based abroad. …However, there were signs from the latest survey that these …impacts were dissipating."

So key points for Manufacturing were:

  • Production rises modestly, but new orders down at a sharper rate
  • Price indices fall sharply to signal much slower inflation
  • Focus on cost-rationalisation and higher productivity leads to modest job losses



Meanwhile, in Services sectors, per Markit, "seasonally adjusted HSBC Russia Services Business Activity Index… signalled a return to growth in April. The reading of 50.7 (up from 46.1) pointed to a marginal increase in activity at service providers, representing a marked turnaround from the substantial reductions seen in the early part of 2015. …Services companies mainly linked the improvement in activity to higher new orders. New business also returned to growth in April, ending a seven-month sequence of contraction. According to respondents, rising client demand had helped them to secure more new business during the month. …Meanwhile, services companies continued to lower their staffing levels in April, extending the current sequence of job shedding to 14 months. Although remaining solid, the rate of decline in employment eased for the second month in a row and was the slowest since October 2014."

Key points on Services PMI:

  • Russian private sector output returns to growth
  • Services new business increases
  • Further reductions in staffing levels

Overall, m/m, seasonally-adjusted PMIs posted a first monthly rise in Manufacturing sector and second consecutive monthly rise in Services sector. Rate of growth in Services PMIs (m/m) has been extremely robust in March and April.

This resulted in the seasonally adjusted Composite Output Index posting 50.8 in April, up from 46.8 in the previous month and above the 50.0 no-change mark for the first time in seven months. This marks second consecutive month of m/m growth in Composite PMI.

More on near-term dynamics of the indices in the following post that will cover BRIC economies PMIs. But overall, we have some encouraging signs of stabilisation in the economy. The signs are still fragile and manifested through moderating rate of contraction signalled in Manufacturing and a marginal rate of growth in Services, with both manifesting over only one month to-date. In other words, we will need much more positive data to confirm any potentially developing upside trend.