Hungary’s seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 51.9 in August from 53.5 in July, , the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (Halpim), which published the monthly index, announced on Wednesday.
The expansion in domestic manufacturing activity, which returned in July after contraction in the previous two months, continued albeit at a slower pace last month, the index shows.
The index indicated growth in six of the first eight months of the year, Halpim said noting that the contractions in May and June were minor and may even disappear as a result of future seasonal adjustment.
Hungary’s PMI exceeded 50, indicating expansion in manufacturing activity, in the first four months of 2010. The adjusted index peaked at 56.0 in February and dropped to 51.8 in April before dipping slightly below 50 in May and June.
Hungary’s PMI reflected continuous contraction between August 2008 and December 2009.
The unadjusted PMI was 50.0 in August, down from 54.0 in July.
Similar to July, four of the PMI’s five sub-indices were above 50 in August, although all reflected slower growth than in July.
The only sub-index under 50 was the delivery-time index which rose 4.1 to 45.0, reflecting that the lengthening of delivery times slowed after gathered pace in July.
The value of the purchased-stock index fell 3.8 to 50.5, reflecting contraction now for the second month after contractions recorded for many months.
The production-volume index dropped 2.4 to 55.4 in August after a 7.3-point jump in July.
The new-order index dropped 2.1 to 54.4. The growth of new orders slowed but the sub-index still has risen now for the eighth month in a row.
The employment sub-index dropped 1.7 to 51.0, still reflecting a moderate rise of employment in the manufacturing sector ongoing now for the nineth month.