Manufacturing PMI hits 4-month high of 56.9 in February

India's manufacturing sector activity growth jumped to a four-month high of 56.9 in February, supported by a substantial improvement in domestic demand, even as growth in new export orders declined, a monthly survey said on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 55.4 in January to a four-month high of 56.9 in February. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

Strong domestic orders

"India's final manufacturing PMI reflected an acceleration in manufacturing activity in February. Output expanded at a faster rate for a second month, supported by stronger domestic orders," said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC.

Goods producers indicated that demand buoyancy, marketing initiatives and rising client requirements underpinned another expansion in new business intakes.

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"According to panel members, efficiency improvements, healthy underlying demand, rising intakes of new work and tech investment collectively boosted production volumes," the survey said.

One area where growth took a step back was new export orders. Where external sales rose, monitored companies cited gains from Asia, Europe the Middle East and the US. "Growth in new export orders continued its slowing trend that began in mid-2025, somewhat restricting employment creation in the manufacturing sector," Bhandari said.

Cost pressures

On the price front, cost pressures remained benign, rising at a moderate rate that matched the level seen in January.

With total new orders continuing to expand sharply, manufacturers in India purchased additional materials to supplement production and add to inventories.

In response to increasing workloads, firms stepped up input purchasing, lifted their inventories and hired extra staff.

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Meanwhile, year-ahead assessments of output volumes remained positive as 16 per cent of companies forecast growth and fewer than 1 per cent anticipate a reduction.

Marketing efforts

Boding well to the outlook were marketing efforts and favourable demand conditions, the qualitative survey data showed.

The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.

(With Agency inputs)