Vietnam PMI falls to seven-month low but remains in growth territory
VOV.VN - Vietnam’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to a seven-month low of 50.5 in April from 51.2 in March, signaling a tenth consecutive, albeit marginal, improvement in overall business conditions.
According to the latest report released by S&P Global, Vietnamese manufacturers recorded a drop in new orders in April, mainly due to rising costs, especially for fuel and oil, which pushed inflation to its highest level in 15 years.
Despite this, production continued to increase for the twelfth consecutive month. This growth was supported by ongoing work on existing projects and still-stable demand. However, the pace of growth slowed to its weakest level since June 2025 due to inflation, supply shortages, and instability linked to tensions in the Middle East.
The overall picture for April was less positive. New orders fell for the first time in eight months, as higher prices made it harder for companies to attract customers. Export orders were hit even harder, mainly because of rising transportation costs. Demand from overseas dropped for the second straight month.
At the same time, input costs rose sharply, with inflation reaching its fastest pace in 15 years. More than half of the surveyed companies reported higher costs. As a result, firms also increased their selling prices, with output price inflation reaching its highest level since April 2011.
Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence said "The price and supply disruptions emanating from the war in the Middle East continued to bear down on growth in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector in April, with rising costs for fuel, oil and transportation hampering both demand and supply".
"Although output continued to rise in the latest survey period, the rate of expansion slowed to a crawl, and with new orders falling into contraction, it seems likely that output will follow suit in the months ahead unless the price and supply environments improve soon", he added.
Vietnam PMI stays above 50 in January as business confidence hits 22-month high
VOV.VN - Despite a slight decline from December, Vietnam’s Manufacturing PMI stood at 52.5 in January, still pointing to improving business conditions, as output, new orders and employment rose and business confidence climbed to a 22-month high, according to S&P Global.
