Regional variations were again marked, with business conditions affected by the possibility of US tariffs being imposed in the coming year.
The J.P. Morgan global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) posted 49.6 in December, down from 50 in November.
The global manufacturing sector fell back into contraction at the end of last year, with output and new orders declining in December following slight increases, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Though the rate of deterioration was modest, this was the fifth decline during the past six months.
Production rose in just 13 of the 30 nations for which December PMI data were available.
Although the rate of deterioration signalled by the latest figure was only modest, this was the fifth decline during the past six months.
Four out of five PMI components—output, new orders, employment and stocks of purchases—were at levels consistent with a deterioration in overall operating conditions. Only a lengthening of supplier delivery times had a positive impact on the PMI.
Manufacturing production fell slightly in December. The rate of decline was only modest and, when taken together with the marginal gains seen in October and November, suggested output broadly stagnated over the final quarter as a whole.
Production rose in just 13 of the 30 nations for which December PMI data were available.
India reported the strongest expansion of output, followed by the Philippines, Spain, Greece, Taiwan and Canada. The solid performances of Greece and Spain bucked the trend of the wider eurozone manufacturing sector, where the rate of contraction was the steepest for 14 months on an average.
France, Germany and Austria saw the sharpest declines of all the nations covered. Steep downturns were also registered in the United States and the United Kingdom, with rates of contraction hitting 18- and 11-month records respectively. Production fell slightly in Japan but registered a mild uptick in China.
International trade volumes fell for the seventh consecutive month in December. Only eight nations covered saw new export orders increase: Spain, Russia, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Greece, a release from S&P Global Market Intelligence said.
The outlook for global manufacturing also remained subdued in December, with business sentiment dipping to a three-month low. This filtered through to hiring decisions, with employment falling for the fifth month running.
Among the major industrial regions covered, job losses were seen in the euro area and China, in contrast to growth in the United States and Japan.
Input cost inflation accelerated to a four-month high in December. Selling price inflation, meanwhile, eased to a nine-month low.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
