Latest data released by Markit - 1 March 2021
- Prior 49.3
That's a decent boost in Spanish manufacturing activity, as the headline reading improves to a seven-month high. A general boost in demand helped and that goes in line with the undertone seen across the region last month. Markit notes that:
"Benefiting from a general upturn in demand, especially for intermediate goods, Spain's manufacturing economy enjoyed a noticeable return to growth during February.
"Output and new orders both increased, leading to rises in buying activity and backlogs of work at plants, whilst confidence about the future strengthened as firms predicted a strong upturn in economic activity once the pandemic has been brought fully under control.
"However, the wider global improvement in manufacturing and ongoing challenges in transportation are fuelling new challenges, with difficulties in sourcing inputs leading to noticeable delivery delays and markedly higher input prices. February data showed input price inflation reaching a near four-year high as a host of goods were reported to have risen in cost. And with firms feeling a little more confident about current and future market demand, they raised their own prices at the sharpest rate since June 2018."