DUBLIN: Growth in Ireland’s manufacturing sector slowed slightly in October due to weaker new orders, but purchasing managers expressed increased confidence about future output, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Investec Purchasing Managers’ index slipped to 54.4 in October from 55.4 in September, holding above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction for the 53rd month in a row. Although Ireland is seen as the European Union country most exposed to Britain’s decision to leave the bloc, Dublin has raised its economic growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018 due to the muted initial impact of the Brexit vote. New orders slipped to a three-month low but new export orders were at a four-month high in October, with the authors pointing to increased demand from European countries. The forward-looking Future Output subindex increased to an eight-month high of 74.4, with more than 50 percent of respondents predicting a rise in output compared with just 3 percent predicting a contraction. The managers cited improved demand both at home and in export markets for their optimism. “Given the positive outlook for the Irish and wider global economies, we view this bullishness as well-found,” Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O‘Sullivan said.
