
Please try another search
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's manufacturing sector continued to contract in May as factories facing weak demand because of the coronavirus pandemic laid off staff, according to a survey published on Monday that showed businesses were pessimistic about the future.
IHS Markit's final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about a fifth of Europe's biggest economy, rose to 36.6 from 34.5 in April. The flash reading was 36.8.
"Even though more factories have started to resume operations after the loosening of restrictions, weak underlying demand is still a limiting factor, as evidenced by the survey's measure of new orders rebounding far less than that of output in May," said Phil Smith, principal economist at IHS Markit.
"Manufacturing production was already down 7-8% from a peak in late 2017 even before the onset of the pandemic, and now that figure looks to be in the region of 25-30%."
Output declined more slowly than in April, but with firms operating well below full capacity and pessimistic about future output, factory staff cuts accelerated to their fastest pace in 11 years, with the investment goods sector hit especially hard.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.