New Delhi: The country’s manufacturing activity eased to three-month low at 57.5 in the month of August, which is below July’s reading of 58.1 but above the long-run average of 54, the HSBC India survey showed on Monday.

The ‘India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by S&P Global, stood at 57.5 in August, and the figure signalled a substantial improvement in operating conditions.

The index has been above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction since July 2021 which is the longest expansionary phase in the last 11 years.

According to the report, Indian manufacturers registered softer increases in new business and output during August, albeit with rates of expansion remaining elevated by historical standards. Business confidence retreated, but firms scaled up buying levels in a bid to safeguard against input shortages.

“The latest upturn in pre-production inventories was one of the strongest seen in 19-and-a-half years of data collection. One factor that supported the rise in purchasing activity was a moderation in cost pressures,” the report stated.

The rate of input price inflation softened to the slowest in five months.