The euro area manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 48.5 in February, according to final data released by S&P Global on Wednesday.
The index fell slightly from 48.8 in January, the eighth consecutive monthly drop in manufacturing activity.
“The index was pulled lower by the sub-components for suppliers’ delivery times, which showed a considerable easing of supply-chain pressures (and typically is indicative of worsening manufacturing sector conditions), and stocks of purchases, which signaled the most marked decline in pre-production inventories since May 2021,” read an S&P Global report.
These two factors together offset the positive influences that the output, new orders, and employment indices had on the headline measure, it added.
Manufacturing output volumes across the single currency zone were broadly stable in February, ending an eight-month streak of contractions.
The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing Output Index rose to a nine-month high of 50.1 in February, up from 48.9 in January.
Supplier delivery times in February fell to the greatest extent since May 2009, easing cost pressures faced by goods producers.
New orders fell for a 10th successive month as client destocking, inflation, and general economic uncertainty weighed on sales performances, the report said.
Source: Anadolu Agency