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In its latest report on the Vietnamese manufacturing sector, S&P Global found out sustained improvements in new orders support job creation, output prices increase following fall in January and business sentiment at one-year high.

The S&P Global Viet Nam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 50.4 in February, up fractionally from 50.3 in January and above the 50.0 no change mark for the second consecutive month. The rate of improvement in the health of the sector signaled by the index remained only marginal.

Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence was quoted as saying that Vietnamese manufacturers were able to build on the return to growth seen in January with a further expansion in February. Particularly positive elements of the latest PMI survey were renewed job creation and the strongest business confidence for a year.

"The overall expansion remained relatively muted, however, and this led to further caution with regards to purchasing and inventory holdings. Likewise, although output prices increased following a fall in January, the rate of inflation was only marginal as some firms remained reluctant to hike prices in a competitive environment,” he added.

He suggested manufacturers need to see stronger and sustained growth of new business before they can be confident enough to invest in inputs and start to raise their selling prices more in line with their own cost burdens.

Earlier, S&P Global reported that in January, the country’s PMI reached 50.3 points from 48.9 points in December last year. The result indicated an improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector for the first time in the last five months./.