Austria: PMI drops to near two-year low in September
In September, the headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)—compiled by Bank Austria and released by IHS Markit—reached a near two-year low, declining to 55.0 from 56.4 in August. Nonetheless, the figure remained easily above the crucial 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction in the Austrian manufacturing sector. It also remained above the long-term average of 52.3 and marked the 42nd consecutive month in which business conditions in the sector improved.
The drop in the headline figure was due to moderating growth in output, new orders and stocks of purchases, with both output and new orders expanding at the slowest pace in over two years. This was partly offset by stronger employment growth. In terms of inflationary pressures, input prices increased at the sharpest rate since January. As a result, output prices picked up notably. Lastly, although businesses continued to hold a positive outlook on the year ahead, sentiment was the weakest since December 2015.