India's factory output rose 4.9 percent in the six months to September from a year earlier, less than half the 9.5 percent pace recorded in 2007, according to today's report.
And the expansion in Indian manufacturing looks set to continue into October according to the latest ABN AMRO Bank purchasing managers' index (PMI) report. The index, which isbased on a survey of 500 companies, slumped to a seasonally adjusted 52.2 in October, its lowest since the survey began in April 2005 and sharply below September's 57.3. A reading above 50 signals expansion while a figure below 50 suggests contraction, and the manufacturing PMIs are interesting, since they do offer us a sort of "real time" snapshot of what is actually happening.
