ASEAN manufacturing PMI hits record low

Factory activity in ASEAN dropped to an all-time low of 30.7 in April, down from 43.4 in March, due to supply disruptions and decreased demand during the pandemic.

The Philippine manufacturing sector also saw a significant decline with its PMI falling to 31.6 in April from 39.7 in March, marking two consecutive months of contraction.

This downturn was attributed to factory shutdowns and lockdown measures imposed to control the spread of COVID-19, leading to unprecedented contractions in output, new orders, employment, and pre-production inventories.