MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish manufacturing activity picked up again in October, showing its strongest growth in more than two years, with output, new orders and new hiring all rising, a survey showed on Monday.
The HCOB Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Spain’s manufacturing sector, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 54.5 in October from 53.0 in September. It was the ninth consecutive reading above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction and the highest reading since February 2022.
“Manufacturing companies are looking to grow their workforce, and there is optimism for a stable economic environment, supported by the ECB’s easing measures,” Jonas Feldhusen, junior economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said in the S&P Global report.
The growth was broad based with new export business rising at the fastest rate in almost three years, the monthly report said. As they produce more and hire more, business people’s confidence rose to a five-month high.
The October PMI data seem to indicate the strong economic growth recorded in the third quarter continued into the next one.
Spain’s statistics department on Wednesday said the economy expanded at a faster than expected 0.8% pace in the third quarter, compared with 0.4% for the euro zone as a whole, with annual growth reaching 3.4%.
The government recently upgraded its growth forecast for 2024 to 2.7%.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Toby Chopra)
