Switzerland: Manufacturing and services PMIs rise sharply in July
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) produced by Credit Suisse and procure.ch rose strongly to 49.2 in July from 41.9 in June. As such, July’s reading marked the best result since February, although it remained marginally below the 50-threshold that separates contraction from expansion in the manufacturing sector.
The improvement was spearheaded by a strong upturn in output, which returned to growth territory in July as activity rebounded following the easing of lockdown restrictions in the country. Suppliers delivery times also grew—although more as a result of continued Covid-19-related disruptions to supply chains than through higher capacity utilization—while the backlog of orders declined at a much softer rate compared with the prior month.
The services sector PMI returned to growth this month, pushing to 51.6 in July from 49.1 in June. The improvement was primarily driven by a strong uptick in business activity as the easing of containment measures brought relief to the sector. While employment levels continued to drop this month, they did so at a softer pace than in June, with a lower proportion of the workforce continued to work from home in July.