MANILA, Philppines—Manufacturing returned to “marginal” year-on-year growth in June with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rising to 50.8 as quarantine restrictions eased in areas accounting for half the economy, being the location of many manufacturers and exporters.
The above-50 PMI in June indicated expansion in manufacturing activities and reversed the below-50 indices, which meant contraction, in April and May. This was the period when National Capital Region (NCR) Plus — Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal — was placed under the most stringent lockdown to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Declines across output, new orders and employme…
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