Ireland’s manufacturing sector expanding as exporters benefit from weak euro
Investec’s latest Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) improved marginally to 53.8 in September, comfortably above the 50 mark that indicates growth.
Despite a strengthening of the euro relative to sterling in September, respondents again identified the UK as a key source of new business.
The sub-index for new export orders has now posted 27 successive months of growth.
The latest survey of activity in the sector also recorded positive readings for the Quantity of Purchases and Employment.
However, it said other components suggested that production was now running ahead of new orders, with the Backlogs of Work component falling for the fourth time in the past five months and at a rate of depletion that exceeded August’s pace.
Investec’s Philip O’Sullivan said: “We had described the previous month’s PMI release as being more downbeat compared to what we had grown accustomed to over the preceding 18 months, so we are relieved to see a slight uptick in the implied pace of expansion for the sector in September.”
“Notwithstanding the troubled signs in a number of emerging markets and uncertainty around central bank actions in Ireland’s key non-euro zone trading partners, we continue to view the sector as having more tailwinds than headwinds and, to that end, expect to see a stronger finish to 2015,” he added.
