Euro area manufacturing PMI rises to 5-month high in January

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – The euro area purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing sector hit a five-month high in January with production, new orders and employment posting faster rises, a London-based global data company said Tuesday.

The Eurozone manufacturing PMI increased to 58.7 in January, up from 58.0 in December 2021, IHS Markit said in a statement.

"Improvements on these fronts also came amid further tentative signs of supply chain issues starting to abate, as vendor performance deteriorated to the weakest extent in a year," it added.

Austria registered the strongest-growing manufacturing sector in January, while slower improvements were seen for Italy, Greece and France.

Demand conditions also improved, with new orders rising at the fastest pace in four months.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit said: "Eurozone manufacturers appear to be weathering the Omicron storm better than prior COVID-19 waves so far, with firms reporting the largest production and order book improvements for four months in January."