Kazakhstan saw a sharp improvement in its manufacturing sector in November, according to the monthly Kazakhstan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), produced by a partnership of S&P Global and Freedom Holding.

The PMI was recorded at 53.5, above the 50.0 no-change mark and up from October’s 51.7.

“Business conditions in the Kazakhstan manufacturing sector improved to the greatest extent since the survey began in March 2019 during November,” the accompanying statement to the PMI data said.

“A rapid rise in new orders was signalled during the month, feeding through to stronger increases in output and purchasing activity, plus sustained job creation.” the statement added. 

Yerlan Abdikarimov, director of the financial analysis department at Freedom Finance Global, said: "In November, business conditions and new orders in the manufacturing industry of Kazakhstan reached record levels, surpassing the figures for August this year. Among support factors was strong customer demand – the balance of finished goods and work in progress was decreasing.”

“As a result, we are seeing one of the highest rates of growth in production capacity, accompanied by active procurement and staff expansion,” he continued. “However, the situation is clouded by ongoing logistical problems, rising costs of raw materials and supplies, and a significant depreciation of the national currency. The combination of all these factors is likely to have caused resources to be transferred directly to production, with stocks reduced. Despite the contradictory situation, the industry remains optimistic and predicts production growth next year, although expectations have decreased slightly compared to October."