Switzerland: Manufacturing PMI inches down and Services PMI rebounds strongly in June
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) produced by Credit Suisse and procure.ch fell marginally to 41.9 in June from 42.1 in May. As such, June’s reading marked a slightly sharper fall than in the prior month, with the index remaining entrenched below the 50-threshold that separates contraction from expansion in the manufacturing sector.
The mild downturn was driven by a reduction in supplier delivery times, something usually associated with a fall in capacity utilization, and as such a negative impact on the overall index. In this case it likely stems from a fall in Covid-19-related disruptions to supply chains, and thus the fall in the sub-index belies a general improvement in operating conditions. Nevertheless, sub-indices for production and new orders improved in June, tempering the overall fall somewhat.
Contrastingly, the downturn in the services sector softened markedly in June, as the PMI rebounded to 49.1 from May’s 36.2. The improvement in conditions was broad-based, but was spearhead by expanding business activity as the easing of containment measures brought relief to the sector. However, employment levels continued to drop this month, although at a slower pace than in the month prior.