Dutch manufacturing activity expanded at the weakest pace in eighteen months in February, as output growth eased sharply on stagnant new orders, survey figures from Markit Economics showed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted headline NEVI Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, fell to 51.7 in February from 52.4 in the previous month. However, any reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
Manufacturing output continued to rise in February. Nevertheless, the latest increase was modest and the slowest in over two-and-a-half years.
New orders received by the sector remained at a stagnated level in February, ending its 31-month run of expansion. New export orders rose at the slowest pace in three months.
At the same time, manufacturers raised their staffing levels for the twelfth successive month.
On the price front, input prices dropped further in February, due to lower prices for raw materials such as oil and steel. As a result, selling prices declined at the sharpest pace in just over a year.
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