MANUFACTURING SLIPS INTO CONTRACTION ON CASH CRUNCH: PMI

NEW DELHI Hit hard by the demonetisation move, manufacturing sector plunged into contraction in December — the first shrinkage in a year — as cash crunch took its toll on new business orders and factory output. The Nikkei Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — which measures manufacturing sector activity — fell to 49.6, down from 52.3 in November. The index slipped below the crucial 50 threshold, which separates contraction from expansion, for the first time since December 2015. This also marked the biggest month-on-month decline in the index since the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse. PTI