Polish manufacturing index PMI down to 48.2 pts in December 2024 - S&P Global
Poland's manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 48.2 points in December 2024 from 48.9 points in November, S&P Global report showed. The agency said that this indicates the strongest deterioration in manufacturing business conditions since August 2023.
"The final batch of PMI data for 2024 from S&P Global covering Poland's manufacturing economy signalled a further overall deterioration in business conditions, but there were some signs of a recovery moving into 2025," S&P wrote in a commentary to the report.
The authors of the study explained that the fall in the index mainly reflected steeper declines in production and stocks of purchased items.
"More positively, employment growth was maintained, and new orders posted the slowest decline in over a year. Reflecting these trends, manufacturers were more bullish regarding output growth in 2025 than they were in November," S&P wrote.
According to the report, the volume of incoming new orders at Polish manufacturers continued to decline at the end of 2024, extending the current survey-record downturn that began in March 2022. The rate of contraction was the slowest since November 2023, however, as domestic demand showed signs of recovery.
Exports remained subdued. New export orders fell at the fastest rate in three months, with Germany again highlighted as a source of weakness.
"The easing downturn in new orders was not reflected in production, with December registering the steepest contraction in output since August. Production has fallen in 32 of the past 34 months, although the latest contraction remained softer than the average over this period," S&P agency wrote.
Stocks of finished goods fell for the third month running, and at the fastest rate in over seven years.
"A glance at the headline figure would show a worsening downturn in the Polish manufacturing sector at the end of 2024, but closer inspection of the sub-indices provides some cause for optimism moving into 2025," said the Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence Trevor Balchin, quoted in the commentary.
"The downward movement in the PMI was mainly driven by faster declines in output and input inventories, but data on new orders and finished goods stocks suggest that firms may revive production in the coming months
as demand moves closer to stabilisation and they need to restore warehouse levels. Domestic demand appeared to be recovering as total new work fell at the slowest rate in over a year despite a faster decline in
exports," he added.
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