The Kazakh manufacturing sector showed signs of recovery in February, following the state of emergency that impacted operations in the previous month, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey data from Tengri Partners and IHS Markit released on March 1.

The index posted 50.1 in February, up from the 43.8 recorded in January. The headline Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI is a composite single-figure measure of manufacturing performance. Any figure below 50.0 represents a deterioration.

Production rebounded as a number of firms reported that volumes returned to normal, while new orders were broadly stable with confidence hitting a 10-month high.

Employment and purchasing activity continued to decline, but at softer rates, whereas supplier performance deteriorated to the least extent in 27 months, with the survey showing some signs of improvement in logistics.

"The expected rebound in manufacturing production following the end of the state of emergency materialised in February as firms got back to normal. Manufacturers will now be hoping to kick on from here, seeing new orders expand to keep fuelling rising production,” Anuar Ushbayev, managing partner and chief investment officer at Tengri Partners, said.

"There was also some good news at last on the supply-chain front amid reports of improving logistics, though delays from China still resulted in longer lead times overall,” he added. "Looking ahead, businesses are increasingly confident in the outlook, though this is largely dependent on economic conditions remaining stable as the year progresses."

The headline PMI reading was at its highest in four months, but still signalled broadly unchanged business conditions overall.