Austria: Manufacturing PMI hits 12-month high but remains contractionary in April
The UniCredit Bank Austria Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 43.5 in April from March’s 42.2, the strongest reading in over a year. As a result, the index remained below the 50.0 no-change threshold—where it has been since August 2022—but signaled a softer deterioration in manufacturing sector operating conditions compared to the previous month.
Looking at the details of the release, April’s improvement was broad-based. New orders contracted at the weakest rate since July 2022, propped up by a milder fall in new export orders. Additionally, the decline in manufacturing production volumes eased for the fourth consecutive month in April, while job shedding cooled. Less positively, such factors as full warehouses, client hesitancy and international competition continued to challenge demand.
On the price front, weak demand across the manufacturing sector led to a continued fall in input costs, albeit at the slowest rate in over a year amid rising chemical prices. Manufacturers responded by reducing their output prices. Lastly, business sentiment receded slightly from the 25-month high recorded in March, but firms remained hopeful for a recovery in investment and overall economic conditions.