H2 2023 signals slowdown across ASEAN manufacturing sector: S&P Global

Demand conditions cooled, leading to softer expansions in factory orders and production.

The headline S&P Global ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers’ index posted above the neutral 50 threshold for the twenty-second successive month in July.

However, at 50.8, the headline index edged down from 51 in June and for the third consecutive month, signalling the weakest improvement in the health of the ASEAN manufacturing sector since last December.

Weighing further on the sector’s performance was the fifth consecutive month of payroll reduction, albeit with the rate of job shedding remaining marginal overall.

Delivery times for purchased inputs shortened again during July. Though only slight, the rate at which lead times improved remained among the strongest recorded in the survey history.

July data pointed to a mixed picture across the ASEAN region, with only four of the seven constituents registering an improvement in operating conditions.

Displacing Thailand, Indonesia led the PMI rankings for the first time in 20 months.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)