Spain’s factory activity shrinks again in July on weak demand -PMI

MADRID (Reuters) – Factory activity in Spain contracted for the fifth consecutive month in July as domestic and foreign demand for Spanish goods weakened, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The HCOB Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Spanish manufacturing compiled by S&P Global fell to 47.8, the lowest level since December, down from 48 in June and 48.4 in May. Readings below 50 denote contraction.

“The deterioration of Spain’s manufacturing sector is moving on at a steady pace, without panic. Still, it’s a downturn, as output is dropping and fewer new orders are coming in,” Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said in the survey report.

The weak manufacturing sector contrasts with the resilience of the rest of the Spanish economy.

A sister survey showed that the services sector has grown steadily since November and the country’s overall gross domestic product posted solid annual and quarterly growth of 1.8% and 0.4% respectively in the second quarter.

The Spanish government forecasts economic growth of 2.1% for 2023, down from 5.5% in 2022, though the country’s central bank raised its forecast to 2.3% earlier this month from a previous 1.6% and the IMF expects 2.5% growth.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Susan Fenton)