The latest purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) across Asia have renewed concerns over rapid price inflation that could threaten the sustainability of breakneck economic growth, according to Financial Times. On Tuesday, the official inflation index for China was seen lower at 4.6% from the two-year high of 5.1% that was recorded the previous month, although the PMI from HSBC and Markit showed that input prices surged to a fresh record high. The survey showed the 23rd consecutive month of expansion in manufacturing activity.
The HSBC PMI for India increased, with the sub-index for input prices surging, which puts pressure on companies for increased prices and on the Reserve Bank of India to combat rapid price growth with an interest rate hike in the coming weeks. Indonesia was also seen facing accelerating price gains, with consumer prices found 7.02% higher year-over-year in January, up from 6.96% the month before. The Taiwanese Statistics Bureau raised its own inflation forecast for 2011, although the 2.04% estimate is relatively modest compared to other countries in the region.