The stability in the health of the sector reflected little change in the main components of the headline index. Manufacturing production increased fractionally in March, while new orders and employment eased marginally but neared stabilisation.

In fact, new orders softened to the least extent in nine months, with this relative improvement in the demand environment encouraging some firms to expand production and increase purchasing activity, as per S&P Global.

The respective increases in output and input buying were the second in as many months, with the rate of expansion in purchasing more marked than that seen in February.

Inventories continued to moderate, however, with stocks of both purchases and finished goods scaled back at the end of the first quarter. Some firms experienced delays in receiving inputs as a result of disruption in the Red Sea, with lead times lengthening for the third month running.

Weakness of the lira against the US dollar was again a key factor pushing up input prices, while some firms also reported rising raw material costs. The rate of input cost inflation remained sharp but eased to a three-month low.

Selling prices also rose at the softest pace in three months during March, but the rate of inflation remained marked and was sharper than the series average.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)