Greece: Manufacturing PMI slips from a near two-decade high in May
The IHS Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped to 54.2 in May from 56.6 in April, which had marked the highest reading in nearly two decades. Despite the fall, the PMI lies comfortably above the critical 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction in business conditions in the manufacturing sector, where it has now been for two years.
May’s downturn largely reflected slower growth in output. Production expanded at the weakest pace in three months; that said, it still remained strong amid upbeat demand at home and abroad. New orders also grew solidly in May while the pace of job creation was among the quickest in series’ history. On the price front, goods-producers raised output prices for the fourth month in a row despite input cost inflation moderating to a near three-year low. Lastly, manufacturers remained strongly optimistic in the surveyed month.