Strong demand boosts India's factory activity to 52.5 in July: PMI data

Overseas demand was hampered by slower global trade flows, underscoring the brodening impact of international tariff tensions, especially led by the bruising Sino-U.S. row

India’s factory activity accelerated in July as domestic demand and output strengthened, encouraging firms to hire at the fastest rate in five months, a private business survey showed on Thursday.

The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by IHS Markit, rose to 52.5 in July from June’s 52.1. It has remained above the 50-mark separating contraction from growth for two years.

“Survey participants linked the uptick in growth to a pick-up in demand, mostly stemming from successful marketing efforts, competitive pricing and favourable public policies,” Pollyanna De Lima, principal economist at IHS Markit, said in a release.

“We see from underlying data that