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The Irish factory sector stabilised at the start of the year, edging into slight expansion as order book volumes stabilised, according to survey results on Wednesday.
The AIB manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.1 points from 48.7 in December.
Being above the 50-point neutral line, the score represented slight growth for the Irish manufacturing sector and was the highest in three months, breaking a two-month string of declines, according to S&P Global, which conducts the monthly survey.
‘Encouragingly, the Irish data showed the smallest fall in new orders since they first began to decline in June last year, though demand remains muted,’ commented AIB Chief Economist Oliver Mangan. ‘The pace of contraction in output also eased considerably, with just a small fall in the month.’
Mangan noted that Irish manufacturers reported a decline in order backlogs as they cleared outstanding work, while stocks of finished goods rose for the seventh month in a row.
The PMI is compiled by S&P Global from the responses to a survey sent to about 250 Irish factory owners. The responses were collected between January 12 and 24.
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