KUALA LUMPUR: The headline Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted a growth of 48.4 in March, an indication that manufacturing conditions remain weak.
Output at Malaysian manufacturers contracted in March, stretching the current sequence of declines to one year.
According to the latest PMI data, production contracted at a rate little-changed from February's three-month record, subsequently leading to a further fall in input buying.
New orders, on the other hand, declined at the weakest rate since May last year, supported by an increase in international demand.
The headline Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing PMI is a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance.
It is obtained from indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers' delivery times and stocks of purchases. Any figure greater than 50.0 indicates overall improvement of sector operating conditions.
New orders contracted for the thirteenth successive month in March.
A number of those surveyed cited challenging market conditions and increased competition as factors behind the fall in new work.
"That said, the rate of decline eased to the weakest in ten months."
Data suggested that an increase in international demand helped to soften the overall fall in total new work intakes, as new export orders rose for the second month running.