Manufacturing PMI increased to 57.6 index value in October 2019 mainly due to increase in Production and New Orders compared to September 2019.

The increase in Production and New Orders was observed especially in manufacturing of food and beverages sector to meet the upcoming festive season demand. Meanwhile, Employment also increased in manufacturing of food & beverages and wearing apparel sectors. This was mainly due to the recruitment of new employees to increase the production levels to meet the higher demand in the period ahead.

Although the New Orders and Production expanded at a higher rate, the Stock of purchases remained broadly unchanged due to accumulated stocks brought forward from previous months.Further, Suppliers' Delivery Time lengthened at a slightly higher rate.

All sub-indices of PMI Manufacturing exceeded the threshold of 50.0 (neutral) signalling an overall expansion in manufacturing activities during the period under review.

Arising from the recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into and report on the issuance of Treasury Bonds during the period 1 February, 2015 to 31 March 2016 and matters that had come to light over the recent years in audit reports and findings of internal investigations relating to certain regulatory and agency functions undertaken by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, in consultation with the Auditor General, commissioned Forensic Audits (FAs) which were carried out entirely by personnel based outside Sri Lanka, of audit firms with a global practice and international experience who were selected by a Cabinet Appointed Consultants Procurement Committee (CACPC) in compliance with applicable government procurement guidelines. The Auditor General’s representative was an observer on the CACPC.