The purchasing managers index (PMI) and the non-manufacturing index (NMI) for February both dropped in February. That’s according to a report out Monday by the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER).
February saw a dip in both the indices due to the Chinese New Year holiday and a long weekend in the last week of the month. The PMI fell 5.7 percentage points to 47.8%, and the NMI dropped 3.1 percentage points to 50.8%.
CIER President Wu Chung-shu said that because there were fewer business days in February, two of the five PMI sub-indices -- new orders and output -- both contracted.
However, Wu said that after seasonal adjustment, the PMI figure still indicates expansion, and that the figure is likely to rebound in March.
“The PMI is still above 50, which means expansion," said Wu. "It shows that Taiwan’s overall economic growth remains in a stage of gradual recovery. From past experience, the index in March will be much higher than February, although we still need to pay attention to the seasonal adjustment.”
The report said the economic outlook is optimistic for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries in the next six months.