A survey has shown that activity in the manufacturing sector fell in July for the second month in a row, as a drop in new orders gathered pace.
June's fall in the NCB Purchasing Managers' Index had been the first since September last year. In July, the index recorded 48.2, down from 49.8 in June. Any figure below 50 means that activity in the sector fell.
The new orders part of the index recorded 47.9, a steeper fall than June's 48.7, though export orders showed slight growth.
Companies reduced staff numbers for the third month in a row, though the drop in employment was slight.
Increased oil and commodity prices meant that firms' costs continued to rise sharply, though the increase of 59.3 was not as big as in previous months. Strong competition and weak demand limited companies' ability to pass higher costs on to customers. The prices charged index recorded 50.4, meaning that prices crept up only marginally.
The Irish survey comes a day after weak manufacturing figures from the US and China.
