Global manufacturing will get a temperature check from closely-watched measures of activity for Europe and Asia, an opportunity to gauge whether a nascent recovery in factory output is gaining traction. That could in turn mean good news for Irish factories because an outsized proportion of all Irish goods are destined for world markets thanks to the US pharma and medical equipment manufacturers based here. The AIB purchasing managers' index for Irish manufacturing in January showed some sort of pickup, but conditions had contracted from December nonetheless. While still projected to remain in contraction territory, economists expect a modest improvement in February in the surveys for the eurozone and Britain. Policymakers are highly focused on workers’ pay as they debate whether to start cutting rates in April or June.

Source: Irish Examiner February 19, 2024 01:13 UTC