The latest Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) compiled by S&P Global was in negative territory below 50 for the 22nd consecutive month in April.
The HCOB Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for euro zone manufacturing, compiled by S&P Global, was 45.7 in April, down from 46.1 in March, marking the 22nd consecutive month of contraction below 50. It suggested that the economic downturn in the manufacturing industry was accelerating slightly, with factory production shrinking at the slowest pace of the year.
The reading of 45.7, down from 46.1 in March, suggests that the deterioration of the euro zone manufacturing economy has picked up a bit as factory production fell at its slowest pace in a year, even as business confidence improved further. suggested.
However, the sharpest decline in new orders since the start of the year highlighted the continuing challenges faced by producers of goods in the euro area.
Supplier delivery times have been shortened again to up to eight months.
Manufacturers' operating costs fell further, but the decline was small and the slowest in a year.
Output charges in the euro area also fell, demonstrating companies' efforts to make their products more competitive.
During April, country-level trends remained highly divergent. The southern regions of the euro area continued to perform best, with Greece and Spain recording growth. The Netherlands also joined in this, with manufacturing conditions improving for the first time since August 2022.
However, the economic expansion in these three countries was more than offset by the economic downturn in other countries. According to a release from S&P Global, Germany and Austria were once again the worst performers, although the decline has slowed.
Finally, euro area manufacturers became more positive about their 12-month production outlook in April. Overall favorability has strengthened for the second month in a row, reaching its highest level since February 2022.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)