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MANILA, Philippines — Local factory output tempered its contraction in October as demand showed signs of improvement, although cost pressures persisted.

A monthly survey of selected industries showed the Volume of Production Index (VoPI), a measure of manufacturing output, sagged 1.8 percent year-on-year in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

It was a milder dip compared to the 5-percent slump in September. The softer decline, in turn, brought the 10-month average VoPI growth to 1.7 percent.

The slower decline of VoPI in October was primarily due to the 6.8-percent growth in the manufacture of beverages, which reversed the 8-percent drop in September. Such an expansion contributed 29.7 percent to the overall trend of VoPI during the month, the PSA said.

A separate survey of companies by S&P Global looked into the sector’s situation during the month. In October, the Philippines’ Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a gauge of the health of factories, came in at 52.9 in October, the 14th straight month that the index settled above the 50 mark that separates growth from decline.

The PMI reading may be lower than the 53.7 recorded in September, but it was still the fastest among six Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-countries last month, and beat the Asean average of 50.5.

S&P also said that this was the second-highest reading since January 2023 and “indicated a historically solid improvement in the sector.”

Moving forward, better days may be ahead for the sector, if advance estimates by S&P is to be believed.

The PMI rose to a 29-month high of 53.8 in November, powering through headwinds from recent typhoons that created supply problems and inflationary pressures for factories.

Survey results showed demand conditions had improved for the 15th straight month in November, although the pace of growth had moderated to a three-month low. But S&P said the expansion in new orders “remained solid and historically strong.”

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