India's manufacturing sector continued to post impressive growth in July, despite slightly softer increases in new orders and output. Key positive developments seen in the latest results included one of the fastest expansions in international sales for over 13 years and another robust round of job creation. That said, buoyant demand also exerted pressure on prices. Input costs rose at one of the quickest rates in nearly two years, which contributed to the steepest increase in selling prices since October 2013.
At 58.1 in July, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was little changed from 58.3 in June and indicated a substantial improvement in the health of the sector. The latest reading was above the series long-run average and one of the highest seen in recent years.
