Czech Republic: Manufacturing PMI stuck in contractionary terrain in August
The S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was unchanged in August from July’s 46.8, which had marked the lowest value in 26 months. Consequently, the index remained entrenched below the critical 50-threshold that separates an expansion from a contraction in manufacturing sector activity compared to the prior month.
August’s reading chiefly reflected sustained falls in output and new orders, and another decline in employment. Meanwhile, backlogs of work decreased for the third consecutive month. On the price front, the paces of increase in both input costs and output charges decelerated to the lowest levels since December 2020 and May 2021, respectively. Lastly, output expectations were at the weakest levels in over two years and a half, weighed down by weak demand, the fallout from the war in Ukraine and concerns about the impact of inflation on consumer spending. More positively, supply disruptions eased to the lowest levels in almost two years.