Manufacturing PMI falls to an eight-month low
Global Market Intelligence. Though the October PMI Manufacturing data was above its long-run average of 53.9, it was the slowest rate of expansion recorded since February. The 50-mark separates expansion from contraction.
The survey pointed to the rate of job creation being the slowest since April, with 4% of companies hiring additional people and 95% not hiring new staff. Business confidence, the survey said, slipped to a five-month low amid concerns surrounding inflation and demand. This comes amid a slowdown in global trade due to slower growth in major economies and persistent inflation, financial vulnerabilities and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“The survey’s new orders index slipped to a one-year low, as some firms raised concerns about the current demand picture for their products. Consumer goods were behind most of the slowdown, recording considerably softer increases in sales, production, exports, input inventories and buying levels," said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Growth of several measures subsided as demand for certain types of products faded.
There were substantial, albeit slower, increases in total new orders, production, exports, buying levels and stocks of purchases," the survey said. “Hiring activity faded, and business confidence slipped to a five-month low. Meanwhile, cost pressures intensified while output price inflation receded," it added.
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