The IHS Markit Indonesia Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.2 in February 2022 from 53.7 a month earlier. Still, the latest figure represented the sixth straight month of expansion in factory activity, despite the reading being the lowest in the sequence. Both output and new orders eased as COVID-19 cases surged. Also, foreign sales slowed, which was also linked to the pandemic; while firms rose their buying activity at a slower rate.
Meantime, employment went up the most in a year, as manufacturers ramped up their workforce capacity ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan. Backlogged work continued to accumulate in February but at a marginal pace. Further, vendor performance improved for a 2nd time this year, amid requests for quicker deliveries. On prices, both input costs and output charges continued to rise at rates surpassing their series averages. Finally, sentiment took a hit, but firms remained broadly positive, with hopes for the virus situation to stabilize.