TOO SOON: The PMI usually rebounds after the Lunar New Year holiday and a few months are needed to see if it will continue to rise, an Academia Sinica member said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 02, 2019
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rebounded mildly, but remained in contraction mode for the fifth consecutive month, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

The manufacturing PMI, which has remained below 50 since November last year, rose to 48.8 last month from 48.3 in February, CIER data showed.

The sub-indices for production and inventories rose to their highest level in five months, the data showed.

However, new orders, a leading sub-index that signals future activity, continued to decline, falling from 46.9 a month earlier to 46.3, its lowest level since December last year, when it was 42.6, the data showed.

The PMI is an indicator of manufacturing performance derived from production, new orders, employment, suppliers’ deliveries and inventories, based on a monthly survey of senior managers at about 300 local firms, CIER said.    [FULL  STORY]