The manufacturing sector in ASEAN member state the Philippines improved in April at the quickest pace in four and a half years, amid further signs of business recovery from the latest COVID wave, the S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing PMI survey showed on 2 May.
The S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.
The index rose to 54.3 in April from 53.2 in March, for the third consecutive month of growth. The April headline reading was the highest since November 2017 and pointed to a solid improvement in overall operating conditions.
The manufacturing sector’s performance was boosted by faster improvement in both output and new orders as pandemic-related restrictions eased.
In addition, stronger client demand prompted one of the fastest accumulations of pre-production inventories on record, the survey found.
Output and new orders increased for the third month running in April, with the respective rates of growth both accelerating from March to the quickest since November 2018.
Business confidence for output for the year ahead improved to a four-month high in April, as COVID-19 restrictions eased.
“Looser pandemic restrictions led to a stronger improvement in operating conditions across the manufacturing sector in the Philippines at the start of the second quarter,” said Maryam Baluch, Economist at S&P Global, commenting on the latest survey results.
“While strengthening client demand has been able to support the recovery so far, it will be important to see how growth momentum is sustained amid ongoing supply chain disruption and sharply rising costs,” Baluch added.