Economic Data and Growth

In January, growth in global manufacturing activity strengthened from December, rising from 50.4 to 50.9, a three-month high. Output and new orders both expanded as manufacturers saw the strongest rise in new work in almost a year. New export orders contracted in January for the 10th consecutive month but at their slowest pace during this downturn. Meanwhile, lead times continued to slow, lengthening for the 20th consecutive month. Employment grew for the first time in three months as job gains in the U.S., China and Japan contrasted job losses across the Eurozone.

India, Greece, the Philippines and Thailand had the highest PMI readings in January. On the other hand, Brazil, Germany, Russia and Italy were some of the larger nations to register declines in activity. The upturn in manufacturing occurred across consumer, intermediate and investment goods in January, with the fastest growth seen in consumer goods.

Meanwhile, input and output price pressures rose at the quickest rates in three years in January, with the jump largely driven by the U.S. Despite this, forward-looking indicators remained positive, with business optimism hitting a 10-month high but remaining below long-run averages.