The latest PMI survey data from Tengri Partners and S&P Global has revealed encouraging signs of continued growth in the Kazakh manufacturing sector during the third quarter of the year.

In August, the headline Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI exhibited resilience, maintaining its position above the 50.0 no-change mark for the seventh consecutive month. Although it experienced a marginal dip from 52.7 in July to 52.4, this figure signifies sustained expansion in the sector.

New orders surged to their highest level since April, prompting manufacturing firms to boost their production, workforce and procurement activities. Concurrently, the rate of cost inflation continued to decelerate, reaching its lowest point since the survey's inception in March 2019. Businesses responded by reducing their own selling prices for the third consecutive month.

The Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI serves as a comprehensive measure of manufacturing performance, aggregating data related to new orders, output, employment, suppliers' delivery times and inventories of purchases. Any reading surpassing the 50.0 threshold indicates an overall improvement in the sector's health.

"August saw further success in the securing of new orders among Kazakh manufacturers, with growth even picking up to a four-month high. One of the main beneficiaries of these demand improvements has been the labour market, with employment rising at among the fastest rate in four-and-a-half years of data collection in August,” managing partner and chief investment officer Anuar Ushbayev at Tengri Partners said.

"The recent trend of cost pressures fading continued, with input prices rising at the weakest pace on record. This prompted firms to lower their own selling prices again, thus helping to keep new orders flowing in."