ISTANBUL, Jan 2 Reuters Turkish factory activity contracted for the 10th month running in December but showed some signs of improvement from previous months as output and new orders fell more slowly, a survey showed on Monday.

The Purchasing Managers39; Index PMI for manufacturing stood at 48.1 in December, up from 45.7 in November, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and SP Global said.

While December39;s reading was the highest since June, it remained below the 50point line that separates contractions from expansions in activity.

Improvement was evident in demand, while there were some reports of inflationary pressures continuing to weigh, the panel of contributors said, adding that global market weakness had led to new export orders moderating more than total new business.

There were some tentative signs of improvement in the latest PMI survey, which if continued into the new year could see the Turkish manufacturing sector gaining some ground, said Andrew Harker, economics director at SP Global Market Intelligence.

While demand remains fragile, particularly internationally, cost pressures are not as extreme as earlier in 2022 and supplychain conditions are improving, hopefully providing a tailwind to the sector heading into 2023.

Input buying moderated at a much slower pace than a month earlier, while the signs of improvement supported a second consecutive month of employment growth, with staffing levels showing the sharpest rise in 10 months, the panel of…