The Lowest Level since January 2009
Market research firm IHS Markit said on April 4 that South Korea’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell from 44.2 to 41.6 last month, the lowest level since January 2009.
The PMI is an economic indicator based on corporate purchasing managers’ survey responses. A PMI of less than 50 means economic contraction. In the market research firm’s latest survey, the volume of new order receipts showed the steepest decline in 11 years and the 12-month outlook of manufacturers reached the worst level since 2012. Specifically, 42 percent of and 24 percent of the respondents answered that production is likely to decrease and increase in the 12 months to come, respectively.
The market research firm also said that many other Asian countries’ PMIs fell to a large extent as well. For example, the manufacturing PMI of India dropped from 51.8 to 27.4 and that of Taiwan fell from 50.4 to 42.2, the lowest since 2009. Those of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam fell from 45.3 to 27.5, from 48.4 to 31.3, from 45.3 to 29, from 39.7 to 31.6 and from 41.9 to 32.7, respectively.