Business conditions in the Spanish manufacturing sector continued to improve markedly at the start of 2018. Output rose sharply amid further increases in new orders. In order to facilitate growth of production, panellists took on extra staff and increased purchasing activity. Moreover, sentiment regarding the 12-month outlook strengthened to a one-year high. Meanwhile, input cost inflation accelerated. This partly reflected an increase in the oil price, but also higher costs for raw materials given further strong demand for inputs. The headline IHS Markit Spain Manufacturing PMI® is a composite single-figure ... (full story)