The upbeat in Turkey's factory activity continued in August due to solid improvements in output and new orders, a survey showed Wednesday, while purchasing activity and employment continued to rise.
Seen as one of the precursors to growth figures, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing rose to 54.1 in August from 54 a month earlier, data from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and IHS Markit showed.
The headline reading marked the highest level seen since January and hovered above the 50.0 mark that denotes growth for the third consecutive month.
To battle surging COVID-19 cases, Turkey reimposed curfews, weekend lockdowns and restaurant closures this year, including a tougher but brief lockdown in April and May due to surging COVID-19 cases.
But manufacturing and the broader economy were largely unaffected by the measures, which were completely lifted in June.
Improving demand and the recent loosening of COVID-19 restrictions meant orders, especially in the export business, continued to rise solidly, the panel said.
A rise in employment was the fastest since the beginning of the year, as firms ramped up purchasing activity and job creation to keep on top of workloads.
Input costs and output prices rose sharply, mainly due to difficulties in securing materials with supply-chain delays, the panel also said. It added that firms had increased preproduction inventories in an effort to guard against input shortages.
“Despite the numerous challenges being faced by manufacturers at present, Turkish firms were able to sustain growth for a third successive month in August as client demand improved while purchasing and employment were ramped up,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit.
“Firms will be hoping that some of these constraints start to ease over the course of the rest of the year so that their full growth potential can be realized,” he added.
