‘Confidence in Malaysia’s future output remains positive’
KUALA LUMPUR: Confidence over Malaysia’s future output remained in positive territory in July 2017, despite the deterioration of operating conditions that were lower than the average for the first half of the year,according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data.
The survey, conducted by Nikkei and IHS Markit, said Malaysia’s manufacturing sector continued to under-perform during July, registering further contractions in both output and new orders, amid reports of weak market activity and demand.
“However, manufacturers added to their workforce, partly in anticipation of an increase in production for the coming year.
“Confidence regarding future output remained in positive territory during July,” it said.
The Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in over 450 industrial companies.
It said the July survey indicated little pressure on capacity.
“Backlog of work declined for the third time in the past four months, with the rate of contraction the greatest recorded by the survey, since data was first collected over five years ago.
“However, longer-term expectations are seen as more positive, with respondents on average anticipating a rise in production over the coming 12 months,” it added.
Expected growth underpinned a slight increase in employment, the second time in the past three surveys that a rise in workforce numbers had been recorded.
Meanwhile, on a regional level, the survey highlighted that the headline Nikkei ASEAN Manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.3 in July from 50.0 in June, marking the first deterioration in the health of the sector so far this year.
“The Philippines and Vietnam remained the top two performers in July and were the only two countries to see manufacturing sector conditions improve, while Malaysia’s rate of decrease (in business conditions) was noticeably slower compared to June’s record low,” it added. — Bernama
