The health of the Italian manufacturing sector declined again in June, marking a third successive monthly deterioration in operating conditions, following a brief period of improvement in March. A weakening demand environment led manufacturers to reduce their output at an accelerated pace. Despite cost pressures quickening, output charges were reduced again, as firms opted to tighten their profit margins to remain price competitive. Nevertheless, confidence in the outlook improved from May. The HCOB Italy Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI®), a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing ... (full story)