Czech Republic: Manufacturing PMI at joint-highest in over two-and-a-half years in January
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), produced by IHS Markit, came in at December’s 57.0 in January, the joint-highest reading since April 2018. Therefore, the index remained comfortably above the critical 50-threshold separating deterioration from improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector.
January’s print largely reflected a strong expansion in new orders and the fastest increase in production since June 2018. However, employment grew only modestly. On the price front, input cost inflation was the quickest since March 2017 amid supply shortages and lengthening supplier delivery times, driving output charges up for the second consecutive month. Lastly, business sentiment strengthened to the highest in over two years and a half amid expectations of sustained client demand and hopes of an end to the pandemic during 2021.