Ireland: Services PMI broadly unchanged in June
The Irish service sector remained largely stable in June, as reflected by only a marginal decrease in the AIB service Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) to 56.9 from 57.0 in May, thus remaining comfortably above the critical 50-point threshold that separates improvement from deterioration in business conditions.
Both output and new orders rose in June, albeit at a softer pace than in May, while new export orders increased at the fastest pace in five months. Moreover, the rate of employment creation accelerated, in order to cope with increased demand and the highest levels in backlogs in almost a year. Meanwhile, both input and output prices softened. Lastly, business sentiment remained positive and was broadly unchanged in June.