29.12.202008:39:00UTC+00Austria's Manufacturing Sector Continues To Recover

Austria's manufacturing sector continued to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, survey results from IHS Markit showed Tuesday.

The headline UniCredit Bank Austria Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.5 in December from 51.7 in the previous month.

A score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. This was the second highest in the past two years, indicating robust improvement in overall manufacturing conditions.

There was an accelerated increase in new export orders at the end of the fourth quarter. As a result, overall new orders increased in December. Accordingly, manufacturers ramped up their production.

Employment decreased only marginally in December with the rate of decline the weakest since March.

On the price front, the survey showed that input price inflation rose to its highest since January 2019 due to rising incidence of supply-side bottlenecks. Average factory gate charges also increased in December, rising for the third month in a row.

Confidence towards future activity reached its highest level since February 2018.