ISTANBUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Turkey's manufacturing sector sustained its strong monthly growth rate in December, continuing to expand at its fastest level since May, although new orders waned slightly and input prices spiked.
The HSBC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Turkey was steady at 56.4 points in December from the previous month, Economic data firm Markit reported, with 50 points marking the threshold between expansion and contraction.
The Input price index rose sharply to 75.1 points from 69.0 in November, the highest rate since April, signalling inflation could be mounting, despite assurances by the central bank that inflation is on a downward course.
"The pace of output and new order growth moderated slightly from the previous month, though still remained impressive. New export orders, on the other hand, showed the fastest improvement since October 2009," said Murat Ulgan, chief economist at HSBC Turkey.
"This stellar performance led to some price and margin pressures. Input prices soared at a very high rate... whilst suppliers' delivery times lengthened at a close to record rate. As such, manufacturers continued to reflect this in output prices that rose at the fastest pace in eight months."
Economists expect Turkey to grow between 7-8 percent this year in one of the fastest recoveries from the financial crisis anywhere in the world.
While the pace of growth has moderated slightly in the second-half of the year, industrial output figures have remained surprisingly strong. Production rose 9.8 percent in October, well above forecast.
The central bank in December, in a surprise change of policy, cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 6.5 percent, in order to make yields less attractive to portfolio investors. It also raised required reserve ratios in order to mitigate credit growth and prevent overheating.
Some fear the bank may not have done enough to offset its rate cut with inflation rising as a result.
(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson; Editing by Toby Chopra)