The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector reached 49.7 in February, a five-month high, according to a report from IHS Markit yesterday. The Istanbul Chamber of Industry PMI manufacturing index report conducted in cooperation with IHS Markit shows a 1 point advance from the previous month, signaling a rebalancing of the country's manufacturing sector.

This PMI for the manufacturing sector is seen as an important gauge in tracking the health of the sector, with values below 50 points showing contraction while above indicates expansion. "The Turkish PMI rose to 49.7 in February, signaling a near-stabilization of the Turkish manufacturing sector. Encouragingly, output rose during the month, and job creation resumed," said Trevor Balchin, senior economist at IHS Markit.

"The latest survey results also signaled weaker inflation than in recent months, although price pressures remained strong overall," he added.

According to the report, among the five key PMI sub-indexes, the production index rose to its highest level since January 2016, the employment index saw its sixth monthly improvement in the last seven months, and the new orders index rose to a four-month high, driving the recovery in the main benchmark index.