MANUFACTURING OUTPUT fell fell further in September and new business continued to contract, with the latest data on the sector showing that new orders have fallen to their lowest level since August 2009.
The sector’s activity contracted at its sharpest rate since September 2009.
The seasonally-adjusted NCB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded 49.7 in August, but fell to 47.3 last month.
Data from the index has shown a continuing deterioration in operating conditions for manufacturers.
While new business orders dropped for the fourth consecutive month in September, new export orders also fell – for the first time in a year. According to NCB, its panellists cited weakened global demand as the main reason behind falling orders.
Despite rising production costs, manufacturers reduced their output prices for the second month in a row in a bid to tackle competition.
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