2 September 2024
The S&P Global Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey, released today, stated that due to the ongoing political situation and inflationary pressures, demand has decreased, and Myanmar’s manufacturing output has fallen to its lowest level in the survey’s history.
Myanmar’s manufacturing PMI has remained below the midpoint of 50 for two consecutive months, falling to 43.4 in August, the lowest point since 2024.
Another worrisome development during the latest survey was growing pessimism across Myanmar’s manufacturing sector. Political and market stability concerns are weighing on forecasts for the year ahead, and business activity is at its lowest on record.
“The inability to develop demand is already there, and businesses have struggled to sell their higher-priced products to customers facing severe financial constraints. The implication was a severe downturn in manufacturing as output fell by the most significant rate in 20 months,” said Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Purchasing costs were strong during the year, so firms increased their costs more robustly. The 12-month outlook for manufacturing was the most pessimistic in the survey’s history.
Myanmar’s manufacturing activities have grown for eight consecutive months, from February to September 2023. In some months, manufacturing reached the highest levels in the ASEAN region.
However, production has declined in the northern Shan since October 2023, when the 1027 operation battles of the three northern alliances began. It recovered in May 2024, but production has decreased since last July as the 1027 operation part 2 started again.
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