Netherlands: Manufacturing PMI eases slightly in December
The NEVI manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), co-produced with IHS Markit, came in at 62.2 points in December, fractionally below the previous month’s record-high of 62.4. Nonetheless, the PMI remained firmly entrenched above the crucial 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction in the manufacturing sector.
The result signaled that growth in the manufacturing sector showed no signs of abating in December; the pace of growth of output, new orders and exports remained close to record levels, and employment growth reached a new high. The indicator shows that business conditions continued to improve at the close of 2017. Growth in output hit the second-fastest rate in the survey’s history in December in part due to strong new orders growth, which clocked the 22nd month of expansion. Despite another strong increase in payrolls, the boost to capacity could not prevent increased backlogs of work in December. Due to the ongoing strength of the manufacturing sector, input and output price pressures remained strong despite easing moderately from November.