HANOI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- New orders of the Vietnamese manufacturing sector decreased for the first time in four months during January due to weakening customer demand, according to a report released by S&P Global Market Intelligence on Monday.
The S&P Global Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index posted 48.9 in January, down from 49.8 in December and below the 50.0 no-change mark for the second successive month.
Business conditions in the sector deteriorated in the opening month of 2025 amid renewed falls in both output and new orders, said the report.
The reduction in new orders fed through to a fall in production, also for the first time in four months.
Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said manufacturers will be hoping that "conditions begin to improve soon."
"S&P Global Market Intelligence forecasts 4.6 percent growth of industrial production (of Vietnam) in 2025," he said. ■
