MANILA: Manufacturing rebounded strongly in February following January’s Omicron surge, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) hitting a three-year high last month.

       In a report, global information provider IHS Markit said February PMI, a proxy for overall domestic manufacturing performance, jumped to 52.8 an expansion from 50 (flat growth) in January.

       Last month’s PMI “signalled a resumption of growth in the Philippines’ manufacturing sector and indicated the strongest improvement in the health of the sector since December 2018,” IHS Markit said.

       In a statement, IHS Markit economist Shreeya Patel said “solid expansions in both output and new orders” drove February’s higher PMI.

       The report noted that survey respondents’ exports rose last month to end four-straight months of decline, alongside a sharp increase in fresh orders due to “improvements in the domestic demand environment”.

       Manufacturers’ output grew at its fastest pace in over three years. “While the relaxation of restrictions was the latest driver of growth, there were also tentative signs of improvements in material availability,” Patel said. — The Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN