Early August’s optimism has been replaced with a September gloomy pessimism.

The IHS Markit Myanmar Manufacturing PMI plunged to 35.9 in September 2020 from August’s 15 month high of 53.2 said the consulting company.
It went on saying the reading was the second-lowest on record and was due to the range of new lockdown measures aimed at fighting the “second wave” of COVID-19 in the country. The contraction in output was the second-fastest in the survey history, as factories temporarily closed in key industrial zones in Yangon Region. Also, new work fell at the second-fastest rate since the survey began, amid weak export orders, particularly from Asian markets including India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Qatar. Employment fell sharply after rising in August; while buying levels declined markedly, leading to the strongest rate of input destocking since March.