The pace of contraction in Ireland's manufacturing economy - as measured by the Purchasing Managers Index - eased significantly in January, NCB Stockbrokers said today.
The PMI, a key indicator of overall manufacturing conditions, rose to 49.3 in January from 47.7 the previous month. This is its highest level for six months.
But the January figure was still below the no change level of 50 for the sixth consecutive month, indicating that activity was shrinking amid negative contributions from the employment, stocks of purchases and suppliers delivery times components of the index.
'It is now clear that the slowdown in the Irish manufacturing activity hit bottom in October and recovery is underway', Dermot O'Brien, NCB's chief economist, said in a statement.
'The January PMI is particularly significant, with manufacturing output and new orders returning to growth for the first time since last summer, and export orders rising for the first time since last spring', he added.
