HANOI, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) remained below the 50-mark during October, dipping to 49.6 from 49.7 in September, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's report released on Wednesday.
The index signalled a second consecutive monthly deterioration in the health of the sector, the report said.
According to the report, overall business conditions in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector deteriorated slightly in October as firms continued to scale back production despite modest improvements in new orders.
New orders increased for the third month amid some signs of improvement in customer demand.
"PMI data for the start of the final quarter of the year painted a similar picture to that for the end of the third quarter," Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
"New orders continued to rise, but only at a modest pace and one which wasn't sufficient to encourage firms to expand their production." ■
