Turkish Manufacturing Activity Contracts Sharply in April

Business

May 4th, 7:28am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Hagia Sophia and the fountain at Sultanahmet square are seen empty during a weekend lockdown across Istanbul. (Getty Images)

Turkish manufacturing activity slowed down much more in April due to the coronavirus pandemic and measures to combat it, with output and new orders shrinking at unprecedented rates, a survey showed on Monday. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to 33.4 last month from 48.1 in March, according to survey data from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and IHS Markit, describing it as the steepest slowdown since the global financial crisis. Firms scaled back employment and purchasing activity in response, a statement on the survey said, adding that currency weakness led to upward pressure on prices, although the rates of inflation eased from March. As well as falls in the volume of overall new business, firms recorded a steep slowdown in new export orders as the pandemic impacted markets around the world, the statement said. "The April PMI data provide a sobering insight into the dreadful impact the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures had on the Turkish manufacturing sector during the month," said Andrew Harker, Economics Director at IHS Markit. "Firms were unable to maintain hiring in the face of sharply falling workloads, and can only hope that conditions begin to ease in the coming months," he added.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2266526/turkish-manufacturing-activity-contracts-sharply-april