Czech Republic: Manufacturing PMI climbs at the start of 2020 though remains in negative terrain
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), produced by IHS Markit, rose from 43.6 in December 2019 to 45.2 in January, a seven-month high. Despite the upturn, the index remained below the critical 50-mark separating deterioration from improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector, where it has been for over a year.
January’s increase was mainly driven by softer declines in both production and new orders compared to the previous month. That said, weak client demand and uncertainty in the automotive industry persisted in the month. Consequently, manufacturers shed jobs at the sharpest rate in over a decade. On the price front, input costs fell for the third month running, while goods producers slashed selling prices in a bid to attract new customers. Lastly, businesses remained pessimistic at the turn of 2020 amid an uncertain outlook for production ahead.