- Prior 45.4
The downturn in Italy’s manufacturing sector continues, albeit at a slower pace. HCOB notes that:
“The Italian industrial economy appears to be trapped in a deep recession with no clear way out. The HCOB PMI remains in
contraction territory with an index value of 46.8, although the decline has slowed down compared to the previous month.
“The sub-indices provide little reason for hope. Output, new orders, quantity of purchases, and backlogs of work all shrank
yet again. Even declining input prices and shorter suppliers’ delivery times must be interpreted as indicators of a demand
weakness.
“The sole silver lining in September was the rise in factory employment. However, this can be seen more as a response to
the acute shortage of skilled workers in Italy’s labour force than as a harbinger of recovery. This is because new orders, both
domestic and international, are shrinking, and even expectations for future output have fallen well below their long-term
average, boding ill for the immediate outlook for Italy’s manufacturing sector.”