Poland: Manufacturing PMI falls to four-month low in August, but remains in expansionary terrain
The IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at a four-month low of 56.0 in August, down from July’s 57.6. That said, the index remained comfortably above the 50-threshold, signaling a continued improvement in business conditions from the previous month.
August’s reading largely reflected easing, albeit still solid, growth in new business. Moreover, strong foreign demand for manufactured goods resulted in a quicker pace of expansion in new export orders. Against this backdrop, output posted another solid expansion, which nonetheless failed to match demand. This, coupled with the softest growth in employment since September 2020, resulted in another increase in backlogs and prompted manufacturers to further exhaust their stocks of finished goods.
On the price front, input and output price inflation softened over the prior month, but remained elevated nonetheless. Lastly, firms’ confidence regarding the 12-month outlook fell to a four-month low; however, sentiment still remained strong overall, amid expectations of double-digit growth ahead.