Factory activity in Türkiye contracted for a fourth consecutive month in October as firms struggled to secure new business and scaled back production, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Similar surveys showed Asia's manufacturers faced worsening pressure last month with factory activity in China slipping back into decline, clouding recovery prospects for the region's major exporters already squeezed by weaker global demand and higher prices.
Türkiye's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to 48.4 from 49.6 in September, according to a survey by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and S&P Global, moving further below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.
Total new orders slowed the most since late last year, signaling widespread demand weakness, both domestically and internationally, the survey showed.
Production continued to be scaled back while firms reduced staffing, the panel said.
Manufacturers scaled back their purchasing activity, stocks of purchases and inventories of finished goods in response to a drop in order requirements, the panel showed.
Rise in prices were often linked to currency weakness, the survey also said, however, rates of increase in input costs and output prices eased.
"Demand conditions were the main limiting factor on the Turkish manufacturing sector in October, with firms struggling to secure sufficient volumes of new orders to support production and maintain staffing levels," said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"There was some further respite in terms of inflation, however, which may provide some grounds for optimism that an improved demand environment can become established soon."
Asia squeezed
In Asia, PMIs for factory powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea showed activity shrinking in October, while Vietnam and Malaysia also struggled with the broadening fallout from a Chinese slowdown.
China's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in October from 50.6 in September, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday, falling back below the 50-point threshold.
The Chinese survey echoed a downbeat official PMI reading on Tuesday, which also showed an unexpected contraction in activity, casting doubt over recent hopes of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
"Overall, manufacturers were not in high spirits in October," said Wang Zhe, an economist at Caixin Insight Group, on China's survey outcome.
"The economy has showed signs of bottoming out, but the foundation of recovery is not solid. Demand is weak, many internal and external uncertainties remain, and expectations are still relatively weak."
The impact of China's slowdown is being felt in countries like Japan and South Korea, whose manufacturers are heavily reliant on demand from the Asian giant.
Japan's factory activity shrank for a fifth straight month in October, the final au Jibun Bank PMI showed.
That came a day after official figures showed Japan's factory output rose much less than expected in September as demand slowed significantly.
Japanese machinery makers like Fanuc and Murata Manufacturing recently reported weak six-month earnings due to sluggish Chinese demand.
South Korea's factory activity fell for the 16th straight month while PMIs from Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia also showed continued declines in activity.
India's factory activity growth also slowed for a second straight month in October as softer demand which and the rising cost of raw materials weighed on business confidence.
"The October PMIs for emerging Asia generally dropped back further inside contractionary territory," said Shivaan Tandon, emerging Asia economist at Capital Economics.
"The outlook for manufacturing in the region remains bleak in the near term as elevated inventory levels and weaker foreign demand are set to curtail production."
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that China's weak recovery and the risk of a more protracted property crisis could further dent Asia's economic prospects.
In its World Economic Outlook released last month, the IMF cut next year's growth estimate for Asia to 4.2% from 4.4% projected in April, and down from 4.6% forecast for this year.