INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New export orders grew at the fastest rate since April.Factory activity in the country bounced back in July as demand surged both at home
and abroad, prompting companies to create new jobs for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, a private sector survey showed on
Monday.The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, jumped to 55.3 last month from 48.1 in June, well above
50-level separating growth from contraction."Output rose at a robust pace, with over one-third of companies noting a monthly expansion in
production, amid a rebound in new business and the easing of some local COVID-19 restrictions," said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate
director at IHS Markit.India grappled with a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections in April and May but falling case numbers
have allowed many restrictions to be eased.The country is still reporting more than 40,000 cases per day, taking the total number of
infections to around 31.6 million, but the economic re-opening induced higher demand and sales, leading to a sharp expansion in output.New
export orders grew at the fastest rate since April.Employment rose for the first time since March 2020, breaking a 15-month chain of job
However, the pace of hiring was mild, indicating a job crisis is still evident.Growth in Asia's third-largest economy could lose momentum,
with new coronavirus variants posing the biggest risk to already weakened forecasts, while inflation was expected to rise, a recent Reuters
poll showed.A lack of raw material availability and higher freight fees drove input costs higher, though the pace was at a seven-month
low.Despite higher input costs, output charges rose only slightly, suggesting companies absorbed the extra cost burden to boost sales and
stay competitive."With firms' cost burdens continuing to rise, however, and signs of spare capacity still evident, it's too early to say
that such a trend will be sustained in coming months," added De Lima.The Reserve Bank of India is not expected to raise interest rates until
next fiscal year on predictions inflation remains within its target band of 2 per cent-6 per cent this year.
