German manufacturing activity contraction eases in January

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Germany's manufacturing sector's downturn softened in January, with the highest PMI figure in eight months, data provider S&P Global revealed on Monday.

The HCOB Germany Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 45.0 points, up from 42.5 in the previous month, surpassing expectations of 44.1, the data showed.

Although the sector remains in contraction as the reading is below the 50.0 threshold, this marked the slowest rate of decline in 8 months.

"Expectations towards the outlook meanwhile improved, but businesses nevertheless continued to cut workforce numbers as efforts were made to trim surplus capacity," the statement said.

The main factors that drove the rise in January in the PMI was the slower declines in both output and new orders. The rate of contraction in production eased noticeably from December and was the weakest for eight months.

The new orders saw the least marked fall since May 2024, while job cuts across Germany eased slightly to the weakest since August.

Meanwhile, business expectations rose to the highest level in nearly three years.