Manufacturing PMI remains steady in April

India’s exports may have slowed in the past couple of months but a modest domestic demand has lent momentum to the manufacturing sector as the HSBC India manufacturing PMI in April remains unchanged at 51.3 from March.

The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit and which gauges business activity in Indian factories but not its utilities, was at 51.3 in April, identical with the March level.

The new orders sub-index, which measures overall demand, slipped in April to 52.5 from 52.7 as demand from abroad declined. The export orders reading held above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction but suffered its biggest one-month fall in nearly two years.

"The momentum in the manufacturing sector held broadly steady, with domestic demand countering a slowdown in export orders," said Leif Eskesen, chief economist for India & ASEAN at HSBC.

Though there were signs of easing inflation pressures in the manufacturing cluster, however, consumer price inflation remains elevated.

"Encouragingly, inflation pressures eased, but that does not mean that the RBI can take down its inflation guards," Eskesen said.