At the country level, March survey data showed further significant divergence in performance. Among the countries monitored in the euro area, Greece continued on a resilient growth trajectory, with manufacturing conditions improving the most sharply in more than two years. Greece's boom far outpaced that of the next best performing country, Spain, which also saw a modest expansion, but only slightly weaker than that seen in February. While Italy recorded its first recovery in the year across its commodity-producing sectors, other countries monitored remained mired in contraction.
Manufacturing production in the euro area fell in March, extending the current period of decline to exactly one year. However, the pace of contraction has slowed to the weakest since April 2023. The decline in new orders also slowed, with the rate of decline easing for the fifth consecutive month. S&P Global said the euro zone's efforts to curb weak manufacturing demand were pushed back by international influences as export sales fell to their weakest level in nearly two years.
The euro zone manufacturing PMI fell to 46.1 in March 2024, its lowest level in three months, as disruptions near the Suez Canal diminished. Greece showed strong growth and Italy showed improvement, but overall the sector contracted. The decline in export sales slowed, input cost reductions continued, and there was increased optimism about future growth, albeit below average.
Product-producing countries in the euro area continued to reduce their purchases of raw materials at the end of the first quarter, but the decline was the slowest since March 2023. The latest data continues to show a preference for using existing pre-manufacturing inventory as warehoused raw materials decreased year-on-year. 14 consecutive months.
Challenges in receiving purchases from vendors continued to ease in March, with the latest survey data showing fewer supply chain disruptions for euro area manufacturers. Supplier delivery times have been significantly reduced since September last year, despite continued problems with ships in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, euro zone product producers moved further into the backlog. Although the rate of decline in uncompleted orders was the lowest since February 2023, the overall trend remained steep. In euro zone factories, the decline in employee numbers was slow and unchanged from that seen so far this year, but job cuts continued steadily, in line with the trend since June last year.
Manufacturing in the euro area also recorded a decline in input costs in March. The decline was solid, but not the most significant in history. Year. Nevertheless, the price of the product was further discounted significantly. Overall, output prices fell at the fastest pace since November last year.
Looking ahead, the latest survey data highlights the possibility of an improvement in growth expectations for euro area manufacturing over the next 12 months. Optimism about the production outlook was the strongest since April 2023, but remains slightly below the long-term average.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
