Business conditions within Italy’s manufacturing sector deteriorated substantially in February, according to latest PMI data. Production levels dropped at an accelerated rate on the back of a further marked decrease in inflows of new work, with employment reduced to a level more consistent with lower wo rkloads. Better news for firms in the manufacturing sector was a drop in input price inflation to only a marginal rate. The seasonally adjusted Markit/ADACI Purchasing Managers’ Index ® ( PMI ® ) fell from January’s ten- month high of 47.8 to 45.8 in February. That was its lowest since last November, and the ... (full story)