By: Staff Writer
October 16, Colombo (LNW):The manufacturing sector in Sri Lanka experienced solid growth in September 2024, while the services sector saw a more moderate expansion, according to the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) compiled by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
The manufacturing PMI recorded a value of 54.1, indicating ongoing growth, although at a slower pace compared to the previous month.
CBSL noted that all sub-indices of the manufacturing sector, except for employment, remained above the neutral threshold, reflecting expansion.
Growth was largely driven by new orders and production in the food and beverages manufacturing sector. Additionally, the stock of purchases increased in preparation for the festive season, while employment continued to contract, albeit at a reduced rate.
The supplier delivery time also lengthened during the month. CBSL maintains a positive outlook for manufacturing in the next three months, fueled by expectations of increased demand towards the end of the year.
The services sector PMI showed an index value of 53.4 in September 2024, suggesting slower expansion in services compared to August.
Growth in the sector was supported by improvements in financial services, spurred by favorable interest rates, as well as advancements in education, professional services, programming and broadcasting, real estate, and transportation.
In contrast, the wholesale and retail trade, IT programming, and telecommunication sectors remained stable, while other sectors faced declines.
New business activities in financial services grew in September, although overall employment in the services sector continued to fall. Backlogs of work also decreased, reversing the improvement seen in the prior month.
CBSL’s outlook for the services sector remains optimistic for the upcoming three months, boosted by supportive macroeconomic conditions.
Further, business activities in education, professional services, programming and broadcasting, real estate and transportation also grew during the month.
However, business activities in the wholesale and retail trade, IT programming and telecommunication remained unchanged from the previous month, while declines were recorded in activities of all other sectors.
“New businesses increased in September, particularly with the expansions observed in financial services activities,” CBSL said.
Meanwhile, employment continued to decline in September. Further, backlogs of work decreased on month-on-month basis, following an improvement recorded in the previous month.
“Expectations for business activities for the next three months continued to improve, at a higher rate, supported by favourable macroeconomic conditions,” CBSL added.
