Better exports boost private sector output, while new business declines
Better exports boosted private sector output in October, although the growth was at a slower pace than the previous month, while new business has declined, according to a poll of factory managers published on Thursday. The Standard Bank-sponsored purchasing managers’ index (PMI) compiled by financial information and services company Markit slipped to 50.2 points in October from 50.7 in September. This showed a less severe decline than a Barclays bank-sponsored PMI released on Tuesday, which found manufacturing activity fell to 45.9 points in October from 48.5 in September. The Standard Bank-sponsored PMI found business activity increased at the fastest pace in 18 months and was supported by the solid rise in new export business. The poll found a second successive monthly improvement in operating conditions. New orders fell from expansion into contraction but the data suggested a strong pickup in new export orders which rebounded six points in October. Markit found that employment co...
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