Manufacturing shrinks again as demand and confidence wavers

Irish manufacturing activity contracted further in April amid muted demand and faltering confidence, although there was some relief for the sector with input prices falling for the first time in almost three years.

The AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 48.6 from 49.7 in March, holding below the 50 line separating expansion from contraction for the second successive month and the fourth time in the last six months.

Factory activity had expanded for two-and-a-half straight years before that, and the recent deepening decline in output and sustained falls in new orders have not been as sharp as they have been in the euro zone as a whole.

A further easing of inflationary pressures, particularly in the cost of raw materials, pushed input prices down for the first time since June 2020, with the subindex measuring costs falling to 48.8. The input price subindex had rocketed up to a record 92.7 in March 2022.

Output prices continued to rise, but at a slighter slower pace with the subindex at 53.2 last month. -Reuters