Spain December manufacturing PMI 46.4 vs 46.2 expected

• Prior 45.7

Despite a slight improvement, this marks yet another contraction in Spanish manufacturing activity with a still severe fall in new orders being recorded. The good news is that cost pressures are continuing a bit of a downwards trend but inflation remains a key problem among businesses. S&P Global notes that:

“December rounded off a miserable half-a-year or so for the Spanish manufacturing economy, with the sector probably mired in a technical recession. Hit hard by elevated inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Read this Term, economic instability, and general uncertainty, both output and new orders declined sharply.

“And yet there is hope within the latest PMI dataset that the sector has at the very least stabilised, if not even turned a corner and is on a path back towards better health. Order books fell at a slower rate, employment was unchanged following a prolonged downturn and confidence about the future has strengthened noticeably.

“Moreover, there were also signs that the dominant themes of the pandemic, supply constraints and then exceptionally high price pressures, are dissipating. Delivery times were only modestly worse, whilst cost inflation dropped to a two-year low.”