Poland's manufacturing index PMI down to 50.2 pts in April - S&P Global
Poland's manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 50.2 points in April from 50.7 points in March, S&P Global report showed. The experts pointed out that although April saw manufacturing conditions improving for third straight month, the outlook had weakened.
"Business conditions in the Polish manufacturing sector improved for the third month running in April, the latest PMI® data from S&P Global showed," S&P Global experts wrote in a commentary to the survey.
"There were warning signs that the current upturn was fragile, however, as new orders fell, and the 12-month outlook weakened sharply. Input and output prices both rose further, but at relatively weak rates," they added.
The PMI index remained above 50.0 for the third month, which, as S&P pointed out, indicates a sustained overall improvement in business conditions at manufacturers.
"The overall rate of growth was broadly in line with the long-run survey average and supported by higher output and employment. On the other hand, a slight fall in new orders, lower stocks of purchases and faster suppliers' delivery times all weighed on overall operating conditions," the experts assessed.
According to the authors of the report, the main positive impact on the sector in April was a faster increase in production.
"Output rose for the third month running, and at the fastest rate since February 2022," they stressed.
As S&P pointed out, the output growth was accompanied by a renewed increase in employment in April, the fifth expansion in the past seven months. Companies reported expanding headcounts to address current workloads, as the volume of outstanding business increased for the first time in nearly three years.
The experts pointed out in the report that although output and backlogs rose in April, demand for Polish manufactured goods fell slightly.
"New orders decreased for the first time in three months, resuming the general downward trend observed over the past three years. Lower exports contributed to the overall decline. That said, both total and international new work declined at only marginal rates," S&P wrote in the commentary on the report.
The 12-month outlook for output deteriorated sharply in April, with data on manufacturers' output expectations posting the biggest one-month drop on record since the series was first compiled in 2012, excluding the pandemic months of March-April 2020.
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