ASEAN manufacturing sector maintains solid growth in January in World Economy News 03/02/2026 The ASEAN manufacturing sector started 2026 with continued solid growth, according to the latest S&P Global ASEAN Manufacturing PMI data released Monday. The headline PMI reading rose slightly to 52.8 in January from 52.7 in December, marking the seventh consecutive month of improvement in operating conditions since July 2025. Manufacturing output across the region increased sharply, with the pace of growth reaccelerating to match the rate seen in November 2025, which was the joint-fastest in 33 months. New orders continued to expand at a historically strong pace, though the rate moderated to a four-month low. Companies responded to higher output requirements by increasing their purchasing activity at the fastest rate since April 2023. Employment growth continued but slowed to a marginal pace, marking the weakest expansion in four months despite extending the longest stretch of rising employment since 2018. Price pressures intensified in January, with input cost inflation accelerating to a 14-month high. Manufacturers passed these higher costs on to customers, with output price inflation also reaching its fastest pace in 14 months. Business confidence among ASEAN manufacturers improved to a 33-month high, though it remained slightly below the historical average. “The momentum seen in the closing months of 2025 was carried into the start of 2026,” said Maryam Baluch, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Growing signs of pressure on capacity suggest scope for job creation to accelerate after several periods of only modest employment growth.” Baluch noted that rising inflationary pressures could pose a risk to the growth outlook, adding that “monitoring inflation will therefore be essential moving forward.” The PMI data covers manufacturing activity across Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, which together account for 98% of ASEAN manufacturing value added. Source: Investing.com 2026-02-03 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share