Stagnation seen in Greek manufacturing

Manufacturing and tourism have supported the crisis-riven economy in recent years, according to Alpha Bank in its weekly economic bulletin, but it added that while tourism is going from strength to strength, manufacturing remained mired in stagnation in the first four months of the year.

In its analysis the bank noted that Hellenic Statistical Authority figures indicate that industrial output did not grow in the January-April period from the same time last year, while in 2017 the same index had recorded a major increase of 7.1 percent year-on-year.

This stagnation in the year to end-April is attributed to the fact that the 2 percent rise in manufacturing output was canceled out by the reductions in the sectors of mining (down 3.1 percent), water supply (down 2.5 percent) and electricity production (down 5.7 percent).

Still, out of the 24 manufacturing domains, 16 showed a positive rate of output year-on-year, and seven even rose above 2010 levels in the year’s first four months.

Expectations in manufacturing pointed to some recovery in May, as the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) had a 54.2-point reading last month against 52.9 points in April. This was thanks to the increase in new orders, output and employment in manufacturing.