Page 30 - RusRPTMay19

4.3 Industrial sectors and trade 4.3.1 Producers PMI
Russian manufacturers registered a moderate improvement in operating conditions in April on the back of growing production and a strong increase in client demand, but activity slowed from March’s strong result.
Russia’s IHS Markit service business activity index came off the boil slightly in March falling to a still robust 54.4, down from 55.3 a month earlier, but dipping below the long-run series trend, Markit said in a press release.
The rate, which remained well above the 50 no-change mark, was the slowest in three months and comes in contrast to the manufacturing index release two days earlier that picked up significantly to 52.8 from 50.1 in March period – the strongest manufacturing PMI result in two years.
The result was the composite PMI index was lifted to 54.6 in March, up from 54.1 in February -- the fastest growth since last November. For most of the last year services have been growing strongly whereas manufacturing has lackluster, but now the two indices have converged somewhat. What has changed is where services were driving the PMI composite growth in 2018, March saw a much more balanced expansion, with manufacturing playing a much more important role. The overall rate of increase was the fastest since November 2018.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Russia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 51.8 in April, down from 52.8 in March, but above the 50 no-change mark.
February was a particularly strong month for Russia’s manufacturers industrial production surged by 4.1% but then dropped back to 1.2% in March. The manufacturing PMI was also most flat in February at 50.1 but then surged in March to 52.8. The services PMI remains a lot stronger at 54.4 in March.
All-in-all, while Russia’s manufacturing sector has returned to growth, it has failed to build up substantial momentum as economic growth in general remains weak and constrained by the lack of structural reforms.
30 RUSSIA Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com