New figures today show that manufacturing activity showed a further slight improvement in August, with the NCB Stockbrokers' Purchasing Managers' Index recording a reading of 51.1.
This is down from the the figure of 51.4 in July, but the index has been in posivite terrority for two years. Any reading above 50 signals growth.
'The expansion in manufacuturing continues to be a modest one as conditions in external markets remain difficult,' commented Dermot O'Brien, Chief Economist at NCB.
'However, a notable positive development in the August survey was that employment grew after three months of small declines,' he added. Companies surveyed for the index said they upped hiring due to the continued growth of incoming new work.
The PMI shows a further rise in new manufacturing orders as a result of sales promotions, competitive pricing and the successful introduction of new products. However, new business increased only modestly and at a slower pace than the last two months.
Average prices paid by the manufacturing sector for input materials, showed a further strong increase in August, which many firms linked to the inflationary impact of high oil prices. However, the rate of cost inflation was less marked than in July.
