PMI Trend Implies Slow Recovery

The overall Purchasing Managers’ Index, known by its Farsi acronym Shamekh, for the economy settled at 46.86 in the month ending Sept. 21 from 46.43 in the month ending Aug. 21, indicating 0.43 points or 0.93% improvement.
A report by the Statistics and Economic Analysis Center of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, the sponsor and coordinator of the survey, indicates that despite the slight improvement, problems associated with raw material inventory have worsened over the month. 
The headline PMI is a number from 0 to 100, such that over 50 shows an economic expansion when compared with the previous month. A PMI reading under 50 indicates contraction and a reading of 50 implies no change.