2025.05.0508:27:00UTC+00Russian Factory Activity Logs Marginal Contraction

Russia's manufacturing sector deteriorated for the second successive month in April, though marginally amid slower contractions in output and new orders, survey results from S&P Global showed on Monday.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to 49.3 in April from 48.2 in March. Nonetheless, any reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Both output and new orders continued to decline in April, but at softer rates. The overall fall in new orders was due to subdued client demand in domestic and external markets.

There was a renewed decline in employment due to lower production requirements, while purchasing activity returned to growth as firms sought to build safety stocks amid a broad stabilization in supplier delivery times.

On the price front, input price inflation eased to the lowest level since February 2020 as favorable exchange rate movements against the dollar reportedly led to moderated price hikes for imported inputs. As a result, selling price inflation also moderated to the weakest since January 2023.

Looking ahead, Russian goods producers remained confident about output expectations over the coming year, underpinned by hopes of a brighter demand environment and plans to expand product ranges.