TAIPEI, March 1 (Reuters) -
Data from the Nikkei/Markit Taiwan Purchasing Managers'Index for February.
Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in businessconditions while readings below indicate deterioration.
FEBRUARYJANUARYDECEMBER 56.056.9 56.6
*The headline PMI of 56.0 in February, down from 56.9 inJanuary, showed that the rate of improvement in themanufacturing sector moderated slightly.
*Although the latest PMI reading was the lowest in fourmonths, it remained consistent with a sharp pace of improvementthat was stronger than the series long-run average.
*Growth in total new orders and export sales remainedrobust, and contributed to the fastest rise in purchasequantities since early 2011.
*Business sentiment picked up to a 10-month high.*Inflationary pressures rose, with input and output costsincreasing at sharper rates than in January.
Annabel Fiddes, economist at IHS Markit, said on the survey:
"Taiwan's strong manufacturing performance continues to besupported by strong global demand. Recent months have shown asustained and sharp rise in new export business placed withTaiwanese firms, which has also been highlighted by subsequentofficial data releases."With new orders still rising to a greater extent thanoutput, and backlogs of work accumulating at the fastest pacefor nearly eight years, the data suggest that the sector willcontinue to ramp up production in the coming months.""However, costs remain a key concern for many companies, asinput prices continue to rise at a faster pace than outputcharges, leading to a further squeeze on margins. This isdespite firms raising their selling prices to the greatestextent for nearly seven years in February."
About the Taiwan PMI:
The data is collected by UK-based Markit Group Ltd, and thereport is sponsored by Nikkei. For more details, click (Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
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