By Andrey Ostroukh
MOSCOW--Activity in Russia's manufacturing sector declined in
March as production and new businesses shrank, the HSBC
Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index showed Wednesday.
The headline manufacturing PMI index fell to 48.1 in March from
49.7 a month earlier, staying below the 50-point mark that
separates growth from decline in activity.
HSBC said Russian manufacturers signaled a third successive
monthly fall in purchasing activity due to working capital
shortages and lower production requirements on the back of a
decline in total new orders. At the same time, inflation in the
sector slowed down.
"March's survey data indicated that operating conditions
remained challenging overall, with output, new orders and
employment all posting modest falls. Access to working capital also
remains a hurdle to overcome for a number of manufacturers," Paul
Smith, senior economist at Markit, said in the HSBC report.
The World bank said Wednesday that the Russian economy will
contract by 3.8% in 2015--based on an average oil price of $53 a
barrel--compared with its earlier forecast of a 0.7% contraction
made in December.
Write to Andrey Ostroukh at andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com