Global manufacturing remains weak at end of 2019

• Malaysia’s manufacturing PMI rises to 15-month high in December
• Global manufacturing remains lacklustre at the end of 2019  US manufacturing continues to recover
• Eurozone manufacturing sector reported a dire end to 2019  UK manufacturing output slides at fastest rate since 2012
• China’s manufacturing PMI remains stable in December
• ASEAN manufacturing sector’s deterioration softens in December Malaysia’s manufacturing PMI rises to 15-month high in December

Malaysia's manufacturing activity rose to its highest since September 2018 in December of last year.

The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI increased to a 15-month high in December of 50.0, from 49.5 in November. Malaysia’s manufacturers move into 2020 reporting increasingly brighter business conditions, having ended 2019 with their best performance for over a year. Survey indicators of output and order book inflows moved higher as recent headwinds to demand showed further signs of easing, in turn helping boost optimism about the year ahead to one of the highest seen over the past six years. The trend in new orders continued to pick up during December, with the respective index rising for the fourth straight month to its highest in over a year. Nevertheless, weakness across international markets remained evident as new export orders stagnated in December. With demand conditions picking up, firms boosted purchasing activity in December, with the respective index rising to a 15-month high. Meanwhile, Malaysian manufacturers indicated that operating capacities were sufficient to cope with current workloads as backlogs declined in December for a sixteenth successive month. Consequently, employment levels were left broadly unchanged. While several companies reduced payroll numbers in order to contain costs, some boosted hiring in line with greater output. Output expectations for the next 12 months were strongly optimistic in December, with the degree of confidence running among the strongest seen over the past six years

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 3 Jan 2020