Italy’s manufacturing sector endured another challenging month during July. Output and new orders both fell at historically steep rates amid evidence of a challenging market environment. Purchasing activity was also cut sharply as firms signalled a continued desire to utilise inventories. With lower demand, there was an improvement in component availability, and lead times shortened again. These factors precipitated a large fall in input prices and subsequently a steep drop in output charges. Firms nonetheless continued to take on additional staff, in part reflecting the fulfilment of long-held vacancies and some ... (full story)