In its economic indicators report issued on last Friday (17th Nov.) the CBSL indicated that among the major sub divisions of the manufacturing industries; volume of products of 'Rubber and plastic products' (10.2%); 'Chemicals and chemical products' (9.9%); 'Coke and refined petroleum products' (9.6%) and 'Food products ' (7.3%) have contributed to the overall increase in production during the month of this September, compared to month of the last year and 'Beverages' decreased by 13.9% during this period.

The report also said that the Manufacturing Sector PMI recorded 54.8 in October 2017 which is a decrease of 4.2 index points compared to September 2017. The Services Sector PMI recorded 55.3 index points in October 2017 from 57.0 index points in September 2017.

“At the beginning of the week, crude oil spot prices fell supported by rising production from the US and Saudi Arabia. However, price decline was limited as political tensions in the Middle East have raised prospects of supply disruptions. Prices further eased after International Energy Agency cut its oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) for 2017 and 2018. Subsequently, Brent price rose due to expectations that OPEC will decide at a meeting scheduled at the end of this month to extend the ongoing production cut”, it says.

However, at the end of the week crude oil prices fell back on concerns about surging US supplies, which put a dent in the market’s recent rally. Overall, both Brent and WTI prices fell by USD 3.5 per barrel and USD 1.6 per barrel, respectively, within the week.