Manufacturing sector stuck in the red for second straight month

The January PMI is pegged at 49.9.

Manufacturing activity registered a weak start in 2015, with the headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stuck in the red for the second straight month.

The PMI posted a reading of 49.9 in January, following a reading of 49.6 in December. However, most sub-indexes registered higher readings in December, except for the input price index which is down by 2.8 and the employment index which is down by 0.3.

According to DBS, manufacturing activity will probably stay placid and unexciting particularly given the slowdown in key markets such as the Eurozone and China, but hope will be pinned on pick-up in demand towards the second half of the year, against the backdrop of a firmer recovery from the US.