ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s manufacturing sector showed a slight improvement in August, with the contraction easing compared to the previous month, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data released on Monday.

The manufacturing PMI rose to 47.8 in August, up from 47.2 in July. This uptick suggests a moderation in the manufacturing sector's health and a softening of business conditions since April.

Despite the improvement, new orders continued to decline in August, marking the 14th consecutive month of weaker demand. However, the pace of this decline eased to its slowest rate since May, according to S&P Global.

Input costs surged sharply, prompting manufacturers to raise output prices more quickly than in the previous month. At the same time, input stocks fell by the most significant margin in over a year.

The overall moderation in the sector led to reduced output, fewer jobs, and diminished purchasing activity.

“Hopefully, the nascent recovery in exports seen in August will solidify in the months ahead and spread more widely to help the sector move into recovery mode,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global, said in a press release.