Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Mixed signals: On macro-economic data

Mixed signals: On macro-economic data

Manufacturing has gained momentum (गति, जोर), but inflation (मुद्रास्फीति) still a concern (चिंतित होना, लगाव रखना)

Recent macro-economic data, including the official Index of Eight Core Industries for November and S&P Global’s survey-based Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing and services sectors for December, offer mixed signals on the underlying (अंतर्निहित, आधारभूत) momentum in the economy. The government’s provisional (अस्थायी, तत्कालिक) data show that output across the core industries, spanning (फैलाना) coal to electricity, grew by an average 5.4% year-on-year in November. Double-digit expansions in cement, coal, electricity and steel led the index higher. However, on a sequential (क्रमबद्ध) basis, contractions (संकुचन, सिकुड़न) in six of the eight sectors, including in the heavyweight sectors of electricity and refinery products, which together represent almost half the index, kept average core output unchanged. While electricity output shrank 2.1% from October, refinery products contracted by 3.1% sequentially. Only production of coal and cement expanded both year-on-year and month-on-month, signalling that non-power demand for coal and construction activity may have begun gaining some traction in the third fiscal (राजकोषीय) quarter. The uptrend in cement is heartening as consumption of the key building material spans the job-intensive housing and infrastructure segments and, if sustained, could help undergird (To form the basis and foundation of something) broader economic momentum. The 12.3% year-on-year and 15.1% sequential expansion in coal output is also a positive augury as it indicates an improvement in availability of the fuel to fire captive power plants and furnaces in the crucial (महत्वपूर्ण) process and metal-making industries.

Separately, the more up-to-date December PMI data show that manufacturing momentum strengthened (To give strength to someone or something) appreciably (पर्याप्त मात्रा में, काफ़ी) as businesses reported the fastest rise in new orders since February 2021. The private survey of purchasing managers at about 400 manufacturers signalled that average output growth across these firms hit a 13-month high last month, with the PMI reading of 57.8 pointing to the strongest sectoral expansion since October 2020. Producers of goods stepped up hiring to help them meet a backlog (An accumulation of work or tasks that were not performed earlier) of orders. And though the increase in jobs was the slowest since September, employment across the sector rose for a tenth straight month reflecting the heightened optimism (आशावाद) among manufacturers. The PMI survey shows that overall output charge inflation across the private sector has intensified (तेज, तीव्र बनाना), with manufacturers reporting inflation in selling prices outpacing (आगे बढ़ जाना) gains in input costs for the first time in almost two-and-a-half years. Policymakers (नीति निर्माता) can ill-afford to drop their guard on inflation at this stage.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Momentum (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - गति, जोर
English Meaning - Strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events.

2.Inflation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मुद्रास्फीति
English Meaning - A continuous rise in the price level related attributed to an increase in the volume of money.

3.Concern (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - चिंतित होना, लगाव रखना
English Meaning - To care about some matter of trouble.

4.Underlying (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अंतर्निहित, आधारभूत
English Meaning - Fundamental or basic.

5.Provisional (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अस्थायी, तत्कालिक
English Meaning - Accepted tentatively.

6.Spanning (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - फैलाना
English Meaning - (of a bridge, arch, etc.) extend from side to side of.

7.Sequential (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - क्रमबद्ध
English Meaning - Forming or following in a logical order or sequence.

8.Contraction (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संकुचन, सिकुड़न
English Meaning - The process of becoming smaller.

9.Fiscal (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - राजकोषीय
English Meaning - Relating to the public revenues.

10.Crucial (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - महत्वपूर्ण
English Meaning - Extremely important.

11.Appreciably (Adverb)

Hindi Meaning - पर्याप्त मात्रा में, काफ़ी
English Meaning - To an appreciable extent.

12.Optimism (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आशावाद
English Meaning - An attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavour.

13.Intensify (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - तेज, तीव्र बनाना
English Meaning - To make more acute.

14.Outpace (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - आगे बढ़ जाना
English Meaning - To surpass or exceed.

15.Policymaker (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - नीति निर्माता
English Meaning - A person responsible for or involved in formulating policies, especially in politics.

16.Strengthen (Verb)

English Meaning - To give strength to someone or something.

17.Macroeconomics (Noun)

English Meaning - A study of economics in terms of the whole system, i.e., dealing with the broad and general aspects of the economy.

18.Undergird (Verb)

English Meaning - To form the basis and foundation of something.

19.Backlog (Noun)

English Meaning - An accumulation of work or tasks that were not performed earlier.