Better News for Spain’s Factories Grinding Upwards in Beginning of Long Post-Lockdown Recovery

SPAIN’S factories are beginning to grind upwards in output as the country launches the long post-lockdown recovery.

After more optimistic comments some weeks ago that Spain could bounce back to pre-pandemic levels of economic output next year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said over the weekend that it could take two years for the country to get back on its feet.

There was a much-needed boost though over the manufacturing output figures for May as measured by the IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index(PMI).

Their previous report for April showed that production in Spanish factories fell to its lowest level since December 2008, when the country started to feel the heat of the recession caused by the banking crisis.

April’s details reflected the lockdown measures caused by the State of Alarm, with record falls in factory output along with new orders and purchasing.

Now in a more optimistic vein, the PMI index went up 38.3 in May from 30.8 in April, which is the biggest single monthly rise since the survey started in February 1998.

Restrictions on non-essential economic activity in Spain and around the globe had sparked record falls in production, new orders and exports in April.

The Spanish economy shrank by the widest margin on record in the first quarter, with the IMF projection a fall of 8 per cent this year, and the Bank of Spain predicting a recession rate of over 12 per cent.

The May improved production figures were down to State of Alarm lockdown measures being reduced, with non-essential factories and outlets being able top return to business.

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Alex Trelinski

Comments