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Domestic Ramadan demand sustains RI manufacturing rally
Indonesia's manufacturing sector continued to expand in March despite weaker exports as expectations of Ramadan demand bolstered input purchases and orders.
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Krakatau Steel employees watch the production of the first batch of hot rolled coil (HRC) steel at the company's second hot steel mill in Banten on May 17, 2021. (Courtesy of Krakatau Steel)
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ndonesia’s manufacturing sector continued to expand in March as improved demand led to higher production among firms surveyed for S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI).
The March PMI compiled by the financial analytics company was up 0.7 points from the preceding month at 51.9, making for 19 consecutive months of expansion and marking the fastest monthly increase since September 2022.
Alongside the higher production, firms reported renewed backlogs of orders as well as increases in input purchases and hiring.
“Although the level of business confidence improved, it remains a distance from the historical average,” said S&P Global Market Intelligence economics associate director Jingyi Pan in a press statement released on Monday.
“It will be important to see demand growth sustained to support further improvements in manufacturing performance,” she added.
The PMI surveys purchasing executives from some 400 manufacturing companies to determine whether business conditions have improved, stagnated or declined.
Indonesia’s manufacturing PMI has been stronger than a number of its manufacturing peers, with China at 50, the United States at 49.3 and ASEAN countries as a whole at 51 for the same period in March.
