Italian manufacturers reported a deepening downturn of demand in June, latest PMI® data showed, with inflows of new work falling sharply and at the fastest rate for over two years. Output rose fractionally during the month, supported by work on order book backlogs built up earlier in the year, but firms' expectations towards future production plummeted to their lowest since the first COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. On the price front, rates of both input cost and output charge inflation remained historically strong but eased further from their recent highs. This coincided with tentative signs of stabilising ... (full story)