Business activity in the Russian manufacturing industry remained at the October level

The business activity index (PMI) of Russia’s manufacturing industries at the end of November remained at the October level of 53.8 points, the report says. research agencies S&P Global. In September, the manufacturing PMI was 54.5 points.

According to S&P Global, new orders in the manufacturing sector continued to grow in November, while their growth rate slowed slightly compared to October. An expansion in production volumes was also recorded.

Demand remained generally strong, but was driven primarily by domestic customers, and new export orders fell for the first time in four months, albeit at a modest pace. The study notes that the current PMI index signals further significant improvement in business performance.

Purchasing activity of Russian manufacturing enterprises expanded in November, although the growth rate slowed for the second month in a row. There was also a strong increase in purchasing, allowing companies to stockpile supplies for the first time in seven months. Against the backdrop of rising supplier prices and the weakness of the national currency, companies faced another increase in costs in November. Cost-push inflation, however, softened for the second month in a row (there were signs of stabilization in the ruble exchange rate against the US dollar).

Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, during his working meeting with the country’s President Vladimir Putin, said that in the Russian Federation, in order to fully satisfy the demands of the manufacturing industry, the competencies of the machine tool industry have been restored. According to him, not long ago the Russian government adopted an updated federal project for the development of production in the machine tool industry. The high-ranking official emphasized that the level of business activity in the manufacturing industry in Russia has reached a record level since 2017, which indicates that enterprises are serious about development, implementing investment projects and increasing workload. All this, as Mr. Manturov believes, should help the country successfully overcome all “current challenges” and cope with the consequences of sanctions pressure from countries unfriendly to the Russian Federation.

Alexander Kislov