BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Austria's manufacturing activity deteriorated for the first time in four years in April, led by faster decline in new orders, survey data from IHS Markit showed on Friday.
The headline UniCredit Bank Austria Manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 49.2 in April from 50.0 in March.
Any reading below 50.0 indicates a contraction in the sector. The index fell for the eighth time in the past nine months in April, to its lowest reading since March 2015.
The output continued to rise, though marginally, in April to the weakest in 49 months.
With slower increases in the production of consumer and capital goods, intermediate goods recorded a modest fall in output.
Backlogs fell the most since March 2015. The rate of job creation slowed further in April.
Weaker demand for materials was reflected in the shortening of supplier delivery times.
The input price inflation eased to a thirty-one month low. Higher price for oil led to an increase in cost. Purchase prices rose at the slowest rate for over two-and-a-half years.
Manufacturers grew slightly more cautious about the outlook for output over the next 12 months, recording a degree of optimism that was the weakest since last November's near four-year low, the survey reported.
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