MADRID (Reuters) – Factory activity in Spain contracted in September for the third consecutive month as faltering demand and high inflation weighed, a survey showed on Monday.
S&P Global’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to 49.0 last month from 49.9 in August and 48.7 in July, staying below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction.
“September data highlighted another difficult few weeks for Spanish manufacturers, with firms experiencing concurrent falls in both output and new orders,” said S&P Global’s economist Paul Smith.
“Firms on average are expecting a fall in production over the coming year, with worries over high inflation and reduced consumption uppermost in their minds,” he added.
New orders fell again and job losses were registered for the third month in a row.
The PMI survey does not bode well for manufacturing activity in the third quarter.
Spain’s gross domestic product grew 1.5% in the second quarter, according to revised figures from the official statistics agency INE in September.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
