Thailand’s PMI outperformed its neighbors by a huge margin last month. Overall factory activity across seven Southeast Asian nations picked up and hit a seven-month high in April on the back of strong new orders and output, latest data from S&P Global showed.
S&P Global’s ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) went up to 52.7 last month from a 51 reading in March, signaling “solid improvement” in the region's manufacturing conditions thanks to faster increases in output and new orders. The headline figure was the highest since last September.
The regional PMI covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. A reading above the 50 neutral threshold indicates improvement from the month prior while below the 50 mark signals contraction.
“Companies reported further gains in new business, which in turn drove the strongest increase in production levels since October 2021,” Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a report.
