Philippines: Manufacturing PMI falls to six-month low in July
The S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.8 in July from June’s 53.8. July’s result marked the worst reading since January. As such, the index remained above the 50.0 no-change mark, pointing to a softer improvement in business conditions from the previous month.
Discounting January’s stagnation, July’s PMI was the lowest in 11 months. Contractions in output and new orders, in addition to near-record increases in input and output prices, largely weighed on the reading. Moreover, foreign demand weakened for the fifth consecutive month amid rising global uncertainty and the remaining effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Against this backdrop, new purchases were also subdued. More positively, staffing levels increased for the third month in a row, leading to an improvement in backlogs. Lastly, confidence about the outlook increased to a seven-month high amid hopes for renewed customer demand in the coming months.