Germany’s manufacturing activity revised slightly higher in December

By Tuba Ongun

Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was revised slightly higher to an eight-month high of 43.3 in December, according to US-based financial services company S&P Global on Tuesday.

The Hamburg Commercial Bank PMI was up from an initial estimate of 43.1, and 42.6 in November.

While decreases in both output and employment gained momentum in December, the rate of decline in new orders slowed for the fourth consecutive month and with the slowest pace in eight months, while business expectations turned positive for the first time since last April.

A lack of new orders pushed manufacturers to deplete backlogs of work, which decreased sharply but at the slowest rate for seven months.

Manufacturers cut workforce numbers in December to adjust to lower capacity utilization and continued to reduce factory gate charges due to competitive pressures and lower input costs.