Manufacturing, services PMI improves in August

Wednesday, 16 September 2026 00:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The country’s manufacturing and services sectors in August have expanded, as per the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), its compiler the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said.

The Manufacturing PMI registered an index value of 53 in August, reflecting an increase in manufacturing activities at a slower rate compared to 55.6 in July 2026.

The CBSL said all the sub-indices, except for Production, remained above the neutral threshold in August.

The New Orders sub-index remained at the neutral threshold in August, indicating broadly unchanged levels of new business activities.

Meanwhile, the moderation in the Production sub-index was driven by the manufacture of textiles and the wearing apparel sector.

It added that both the Employment and Quantity of Purchases sub-indices increased in August, reflecting continued hiring and a gradual build-up of inventories in preparation for year-end seasonal production.

However, Suppliers’ Delivery Times sub-index lengthened further in August, reflecting persistent supply disruptions.

The CBSL said the outlook remains positive, albeit moderated by near-term challenges, mainly due to the expected year-end seasonal upturn.

The Services PMI registered an index value of 65.6 in August, indicating a higher expansion in services activities compared to 61.4 in July 2026.

The CBSL noted that the business activity in the service sector grew at a faster pace in August 2026, supported by the improvements observed across many sectors.

“This growth was primarily driven by the strong performance in transportation, wholesale and retail trade, and professional services sub-sectors, while financial and other personal services sub-sectors also contributed notably,” it added.

New businesses increased in August 2026, primarily due to the expansions observed in wholesale and retail trade, financial and other personal services sub-sectors. The professional services sub-sector also contributed positively to this increase.

Employment increased in August 2026, supported by new recruitments. Meanwhile, Backlogs of Work declined in August 2026, reversing the increase recorded in the previous month.

The CBSL said expectations for Business Activity for the upcoming quarter remained positive in August 2026, supported by anticipated economic improvements and expected growth in tourist arrivals.

“However, broader global economic uncertainties continued to pose downside risks to the outlook,” it noted.