Sri Lanka sees spurt in economic activities as shown by PMI for October

Sri Lanka is seeing a spurt in the economic activities across both manufacturing and services sectors in October 2025 on upcoming festive demand backed by solid macro-economic conditions and rising tourist arrivals.

The manufacturing sector reported a Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of 61.0 for October, up from 55.4 index points in September, signalling continued but accelerated expansion in manufacturing activities.

The services PMI recorded an index value of 66.0 for October, rising from 58.7 in September, reflecting faster expansion in the activities.

In PMI, an activity is split between an expansion and a contraction at the index level of 50.0.

According to the survey on manufacturers, the notable contribution to new orders sub-index came from manufacturing of food and beverages as many producers received orders for the upcoming festive season.

Even the existing production was ramped up in response to the seasonal demand.  

The factories were seen hiring new employees to keep up with the increasing activities.

Meanwhile, the services sector did even better on the back of the robust performance in wholesale and retail trade, again due to the expanding demand in response to improving consumer spending in a growing economy and also due to rising tourist arrivals.

Further, the financial services continued to improve, supported by the increased lending activities as seen from the blowout private sector credit data and the robust banking and finance company sector performance.

Other personal activities and activities related to transportation of goods also contributed to the services sector expansion in October.

Employment in the sector continued to rise as the firms were seen adjusting to the operational needs.

Overall, the respondents in both manufacturing and services sectors had positive expectations for the future on the back of the coming festive season backed by strong macro-economic fundamentals and the rising tourism trade.