Taiwan: Manufacturing PMI picks up in June but remains downbeat
The S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased from 44.3 in May to 44.8 in June. As a result, the index was still below the 50-threshold, but pointed to a slower deterioration in business conditions.
June saw sharp falls in output, new orders, purchasing activity, new export orders and employment, with the latter dropping at the fastest rate since 2009. Moreover, input and output costs declined amid weak demand. Taiwan’s manufacturing sector is suffering more than that of most other economies—the JPM Global Manufacturing PMI clocked 48.8 in June. This is due to Taiwan’s reliance on electronics, global demand for which is currently depressed.
Annabel Fiddes, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:
“Business confidence fell into negative territory for the first time in three months, highlighting that firms now anticipate output to fall over the next year. […] It seems unlikely the sector will move back into recovery until we see improvements in global economic conditions and stronger demand across key markets such as Europe and the US.”