The global manufacturing sector contracted for the fifth consecutive month in September as production stagnated and new export orders fell, with the eurozone recording the fastest rate of decline in business conditions in nearly seven years, according to latest survey results from JPMorgan and IHS Markit.
The seasonally adjusted JPMorgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index went up to 49.7 last month from 49.5 in August, indicating that the global manufacturing sector was edging closer to stabilization. An index reading below 50.0 indicates a contraction.
Fifteen of the 30 countries covered by the survey registered a weakening in overall business conditions, with Japan and the euro area, led by Germany, falling deeper into contraction territory.
Global manufacturing output was broadly stagnant last month amid lower intakes of new business, while new export orders dropped for the 13th month in a row as international trade flows remained weak, according to the survey. New export business declined in the U.S., China, Germany and Japan.
Global manufacturing production is expected to grow modestly during the rest of 2019, according to Olya Borichevska from J.P.Morgan global economic research.
"Conditions will need to revive if manufacturing is to show a substantial recovery in the coming months," Borichevska said.
