India's manufacturing sector sees best growth in 17 years
India's manufacturing sector had a standout July, with the HSBC Manufacturing PMI jumping to 59.2—the best it's been since early 2008.
This boost came from strong growth in production, sales, and new orders.
Even as the overall private sector stayed solid (Composite PMI at 60.7), manufacturing clearly stole the show.
Manufacturing outshines services
Manufacturing outperformed services thanks to big export demand from Asia, Europe, and the US.
Companies ramped up buying and kept factories busy—even though export orders cooled off slightly, they were still strong enough to keep things moving.
Hiring slows down; business confidence dips
Despite all this momentum, hiring slowed down to its weakest pace in over a year—especially in services.
Rising costs for things like aluminum and food forced companies to hike prices, which knocked business confidence down to its lowest level since March 2023.