Russian manufacturing growth in March capped by drop in new orders - PMI

[April 02, 2018]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Activity in the Russian manufacturing sector picked up slightly in March but stayed below its long-run average as growth in new orders and output slowed, the Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed on Monday.

The headline PMI index inched up to 50.6 from 50.2 in February and has now held above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction since June 2016.

"March survey data indicated a marginal improvement in operating conditions across the manufacturing sector," said Sian Jones, an economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.

Output levels at Russian manufacturers continued to rise in March, even though the rise in output was the slowest in five months, while the new orders expansion was the weakest since mid-2016.

- Detailed PMI data are only available under license from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a license.

(Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh)

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