BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Austria's manufacturing sector logged its steepest declines in output and new orders in over two decades as coronavirus, or covid-19, pandemic caused global economic disruption, survey results from IHS Markit showed Tuesday.
The headline UniCredit Bank Austria manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 31.6 in April from 45.8 in March. A score below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.
The latest reading surpassed the previous record-low of 33.1 seen at the depth of the global financial crisis in January 2009.
The output index fell to a historic low of 17.2 in April. With firms reporting order cancellations or postponements, client closures, and general uncertainty, new orders showed an unprecedented collapse.
Despite widespread use of short-time work, employment fell at a near-record pace, as firms looked to cut costs.
Purchasing activity dropped to the greatest extent in the series history in April. Due to lower demand for input, purchases prices declined. Consequently, average factory gate prices fell at the steepest pace since January 2015.
Output expectations hit a record low for the second successive month in April.
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