Manufacturing PMI in August rises to 49.4 from 47.4
Third consecutive month of main index increase, getting closer and closer to the no-change threshold of 50
2' min read
Key points
2' min read
The Pmi Index on the Italian manufacturing sector recorded 49.4 points in August, up from 47.4 in July. This was reported by S&P Global, pointing out that although there is still a deterioration in the health of the sector, August marked the third consecutive month of increase in the leading index, bringing it ever closer to the no-change threshold of 50.
Italian industry is 'recovering. Although in August the Hcob Pmi for the Italian manufacturing sector remains below the no-change threshold with 49.4, the index still gained two points," says Tariq Kamal Chaudhry, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank. 'This result,' he continues, 'is still positive given the downward trend reported in other eurozone nations in recent months. However, the situation in Italian industry is far from ideal, with companies saying they have reduced production levels due to low levels of new orders and generally weak market conditions."
Consumer confidence index falls
In August, the index of consumer confidence is estimated to have decreased from 98.9 to 96.1, while the composite indicator of business confidence rose from 94.3 to 94.7. This was announced by Istat. Among consumers both opinions on the general economic situation and those on the personal situation deteriorated: the economic climate decreased from 105.6 to 102.3 and the personal climate from 96.5 to 93.8.
Evaluations of the future and current situation are also marked by pessimism (future climate decreases from 99.4 to 95.7 and current climate decreases from 98.5 to 96.3). With reference to companies, the confidence index decreased in industry (from 87.6 to 87.1 in manufacturing and from 103.6 to 103.3 in construction) and in retail trade (from 102.6 to 101.4). Positive signals came from the market services sector, where the index increased from 96.0 to 97.9. Regarding the components of the confidence indices, in manufacturing all index components deteriorated.
In construction, order ratings recovered compared to last month when employment expectations were down. Turning to market services, there was a widespread improvement in all components. In retail trade, worsening judgments on sales and inventories were combined with rising expectations on future sales. At the distribution circuit level, the index increased only in traditional distribution (from 109.5 to 111.3), while in large-scale distribution there was a decrease.
