Business sentiment eased to a three-month low on worries about the Covid-19 outbreak, but firms remained optimistic overall that output will increase over the coming year.

Hopes that these trends will continue and that the Covid-19 pandemic will come to an end supported the greatest business confidence since mid-2019.

The health of the sector has now strengthened in three successive months.

While purchasing activity and employment were scaled back, business sentiment improved to a 16-month high.

The Vietnamese manufacturing sector returned to growth in September as concerns around the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country eased.

Despite a drop in output in July, firms remained confident in the 12-month outlook for production.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 51.1 in June, up from 42.7 in May and above the 50.0 no-change mark for the first time in five months.