Russia’s factory activity expanded in October, growing for the first time in 11 months thanks to higher domestic demand, a Markit report showed Monday.
The Purchasing Managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to 50.2 from 49.1 the previous month, edging above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
“Domestic demand is the principal driver of the expansion, with total new orders rising at the best rate for nearly a year,”said Markit’s senior economist Paul Smith.
“That’s in spite of the sharpest fall in new export orders for three months.”
New orders rose for the second month running, with the related subindex rising to 51.6 – the fastest growth rate since November 2014. New export orders fell in October, with roughly a quarter of manufacturers registering less business from abroad.