Standard Chartered’s Ethan Lester notes that global manufacturing PMIs stayed in expansionary territory in March for an eighth straight month, even as the pace of growth eased from February’s 44‑month high. Asia offset ongoing contractions in Emerging Europe, while India’s PMI, though at a 3.5‑year low, remained the second strongest among 27 countries. Input price inflation and supply-chain delays surged following the Iran conflict, but employment and stockpiling were broadly stable and business confidence suggests only modest war-related disruption is expected.

Global manufacturing expands despite price surge

"Composite global manufacturing PMIs remained in expansionary (>50) territory during March for the eighth consecutive month."

"Globally, ongoing contractions across EM Europe economies (Türkiye, Russia, Poland) were offset by resilience in Asia."

"While India’s preliminary figure was the weakest in nearly 3.5 years, its performance remained the second strongest among our sample of 27 countries."

"The Iran conflict, which started on 28 February, was clearly reflected in higher reported supply chain and price pressures."

"Business confidence also held up surprisingly well, indicating expectations of only modest war-related disruption to production."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)