The pace of increase in input and output costs for Irish manufacturers eased to the lowest level in months in August, offering some slight relief to firms who could only eke out modest growth overall, a survey showed on Thursday.
The AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 51.1 from 51.8, the lowest reading in almost two years but unlike flash data for the euro zone as a whole, it remained above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.
The fall was driven by a third straight monthly contraction in output, where the rate of decline was the fastest in 18 months. Backlogs of work and new export orders also declined at a faster rate last month.
Out-Put Drop-Off
Firms attributed lower output to a drop-off in demand that was partly linked to high inflation deterring new customers, the survey's authors said.
While cost pressures remained among the highest levels seen in the series' 20-year history, the reading for input prices fell to 75.7 from 82.6 in July and helped bring the output prices subindex down to 66.5 from 71.0 the previous month.
Supply chain pressures also remained intense, although the overall incidence of delays in delivery times was the lowest since November 2020.
"While inflationary pressures remain strong, there are signs that they are beginning to slacken," AIB's chief economist Oliver Mangan said.
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more supply chain stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
