Indian factory growth stalls
MANUFACTURING growth in India has stalled for the first time in four and a half years, according to HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), with output and orders contracting at a faster pace.
The headline figure was 48.5, with anything over 50 suggesting growth, and anything below suggesting that a sector is now shrinking.
Tomorrow, former IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan begins his time at the helm of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). HSBC’s Leif Eskesen commented: “The RBI will likely keep its liquidity tightening measures in place for a while still to help contain the depreciation of the currency”.