Factory Growth Slows To 4th Month Low Since November

Despite higher inflationary pressures, India's manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest rate in four months in February, but remained relatively strong amid buoyant domestic demand, according to a private survey released on Wednesday. Rising borrowing costs and manufacturing weakness have slowed the Indian economy. It grew 4.4% year on year in the fourth quarter, down from 6.3% in the previous quarter, according to data released on Tuesday, slower than the 4.6% predicted in a Reuters poll. The manufacturing sector shrank 1.1% year on year in the third quarter, the second consecutive contraction reflecting a drop in exports. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (INPMI=ECI) compiled by S&P Global fell to 55.3 in February from 55.4 in January, but it was higher than a Reuters poll expectation of 54.3 and remained well above the 50-mark separating expansion from contraction for a second month 20th month in a row.