Netherlands: Manufacturing PMI rises to over one-year high in February
Business conditions in the Dutch manufacturing sector improved in February as the NEVI Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), produced by IHS Markit, rose from 49.9 in January to 52.9. The result, which marked a 13-month high, came despite global worries over the coronavirus.
The uptick in February came on the back of the first rise in output in five months, the strongest increase in order book volumes since August last year and robust employment growth. Moreover, the improvement in operating conditions was broad-based, with the consumer goods subsector spearheading the overall result. This suggests that private consumption remained resilient midway through the first quarter of the year. For the manufacturing sector as a whole, purchasing activity picked up and supplier delivery times lengthened owing to the outbreak of the coronavirus disrupting supply chains. Looking at prices, input prices rose amid higher staff and raw material costs, which was partially passed on to consumers as output prices rose mildly.
Commenting on the data, Lewis Cooper, economist at IHS Markit, noted that “February provided some positive signs for the Dutch manufacturing sector, but improvements in demand will need to be sustained for growth to continue. The sector remained resilient to any major repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak [however] further pressures on supply chains could still have an adverse effect in the coming months.”