Posted on 07 Mar 2025
The global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) kept stable at 50 in February, with the reading remaining unchanged from the previous month after the continuous rise over the prior three months, according to the latest data compiled by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP). The result suggested that global manufacturing had steadily recovered last month, it said.
Growth in the global economy is still being constrained by many factors however, such as ongoing geopolitical conflicts in some regions, the uncertain impact of tariff policies imposed by the United States, and the intensified risks of inflation with the higher costs of cross-border trade driven by rapidly rising trade barriers, CFLP warned.
For February, the manufacturing PMI in Asia remained in the expansion zone for the fourteenth straight month to sit at 51.3, up 0.6 point on month, mainly thanks to the better performance of China's manufacturing sector.
Last month, China's PMI for the manufacturing industry resumed climbing to reach 50.2, higher by 1.1 points on month. Among the major countries in Asia, the PMI in India hovered high at 57.1 despite the on-month decrease of 0.6 point, while the indices in Japan and South Korea fell below the threshold of 50 connoting contraction.
As for the ASEAN countries, the manufacturing PMIs for Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines stayed above 50, while those for Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam struggled below the threshold, according to CFLP.
Asian countries should strengthen regional coordination and industrial chain integration in response to the uncertainty of US tariffs, CFLP suggested.
The manufacturing PMI in the Americas declined in February but still stayed in the expansion zone, with the index down 0.7 point on month at 50.2, ending the rise over the prior three months.
The decline was mainly blamed on the decrease in the manufacturing PMI of the US, where the index slipped by 0.6 point on month to 50.3 in February. Last month, the sub-index of production in the country declined by 1.8 points on month to 50.7, and that of new orders fell into the contraction zone at 48.6 with a sharper on-month fall of 6.5 points.
Meanwhile, the PMIs for Canada, Mexico and Colombia also declined by varying degrees in February and stood below the 50-mark, CFLP noted.
The manufacturing PMI in Europe was still lower than 48 in February to sit at 47.9 – mainly due to the weakness in the economies of France and Germany – though the index had increased for the second month by 0.1 point on month.
In February, the PMI for the manufacturing sector in France reached 45.5, much lower than the 50-mark despite an on-month rise of 0.5 point, while the index in Germany was 46.1, representing a gain of 1.1 points from the previous month but still below the 50 threshold, CFLP said.
The manufacturing PMI in Africa came in at 49.5 in February after an on-month rise of 0.1 point. Among major countries in the region, the PMI in South Africa slipped for a fifth month to 45, which the federation cited as the main reason for the poor performance in Africa's manufacturing industry overall.
Source:Mysteel Global
