The headline HCOB Germany manufacturing PMI export conditions index posted 49.8 in September, down from 50.7 in August and the lowest reading since January.
All three main global regions registered a loss of momentum in September. North America (52.7) remained the fastest-growing, despite the rate of expansion easing to a five-month low in September.
September PMI data indicated a fractional downturn in business activity across Germany’s overseas markets after a marginal expansion in exports in August.
The headline HCOB Germany manufacturing PMI export conditions index posted 49.8, down from 50.7 in August and the lowest reading since January.
Manufacturers signalled a steep and accelerated decline in their volumes of new work from abroad.
Moreover, on a trade-weighted basis, output growth in Asia (51.1) increased at the weakest pace since October 2023. This was largely due to a slowdown in private sector activity growth across China.
Meanwhile, lacklusture export demand persisted in Europe (48.6), with this index in contraction territory for the fourth consecutive month. Renewed declines in private sector output in France and Italy more than offset pockets of growth in Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
German manufacturers signalled a steep and accelerated decline in their volumes of new work from abroad in September. At 39.7, down from 40.8 in August, the seasonally-adjusted HCOB Germany manufacturing PMI new export orders index was below the 50 no-change mark for the thirty-first month in a row.
Moreover, the rate of contraction was the fastest since October 2023. Survey respondents widely linked falling export sales to weak global demand for manufactured goods, as well as challenging market conditions, a release from S&P Global said.
There were also reports that heightened geopolitical uncertainty had led to delayed decision-making among clients, especially on major capital spending projects. Where growth was reported, firms mostly noted rising demand from US clients. This contrasted with relatively weak spending patterns across Europe and Asia.
While the latest decline in new orders from abroad partly reflected an unfavourable global economic backdrop, the downturn in exports across Germany’s manufacturing sector continued to exceed the worldwide trend by a wide margin.
In fact, the rate of decline in new export orders was the second-fastest of the 29 economies monitored by PMI surveys in September, exceeded only by Austria.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
