India's manufacturing activity expanded for the fifth straight month in May but the production logged its slowest rise in the current five-month sequence of growth, survey data from Markit showed Wednesday.
The Nikkei manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.7 in May from 50.5 in April. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
New orders expanded at a faster pace, the upturn in output softened in May. Encouragingly, businesses took on additional workers and bought more inputs for use in the production process.
While cost inflation climbed to the strongest since March 2015, charges were raised at a weaker pace.
"So far, there is little evidence that the latest cut in the benchmark rate acted to significantly improve business conditions for manufacturers," Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit and author of the report, said.
"Therefore, further stimulus may be necessary to shift the economy into a higher gear," the economist added.
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