Mumbai, Aug. 1 -- Manufacturing sector conditions in India continued to strengthen in July, with the HSBC PMI climbing to a 16-month high due to faster increases in new orders, output and stocks of purchases.

Firms bought extra inputs to broadly the same extent as in June, however, whilst job creation receded to the weakest since November 2024.

Meanwhile, business confidence retreated to its lowest level in three years. Cost pressures intensified, though remained negligible by historical standards, while the latest increase in selling prices was stronger than the long-run series average.

Rising from 58.4 in June to 59.1 in July, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) signalled the strongest im...