Russia Sees Factory Activity Grows amid Rising Domestic Demand

Rising domestic demand offset dropping export sales to drive growth in Russian manufacturing in December, a survey showed on Thursday, resulting in the sector’s fastest monthly rise in job creation in the sector over 21 years.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 53.0 in December from 53.2 in November, but still above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from shrinking.

S&P Global said higher production was linked to another monthly upturn in new orders and the acquisition of new customers. The rate of output growth softened from November’s recent high but was the second-fastest since August 2020.

The contraction in new export orders weighed on total sales growth, attributing the drop in foreign client demand to the impact of sanctions against Moscow over its actions in Ukraine, S&P Global added.

This year has seen logistics delays and material shortages as a result of Western restrictions and a mass corporate exit from Russia.