The decline in the Spanish manufacturing sector intensified again in May as both output and new orders fell at rates only exceeded by the 2008/09 downturn. A lack of demand led firms to reduce their input buying, which in turn subdued pricing power at suppliers and brought cost inflation down markedly. Meanwhile, employment continued to decline at a substantial pace. The seasonally adjusted Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index ® (PMI ® ) – a composite indicator designed to measure the performance of the manufacturing economy – posted 42.0 in May, down from the reading of 43.5 in April. This signalled a sharp ... (full story)