Greek June factory activity growth fastest since April 2000 -PMI
ATHENS, July 1 (Reuters) - Greek factory activity grew at the fastest pace in 21 years in June, with strong client demand leading firms to raise output and add jobs, while materials shortages stymied production growth, a survey showed on Thursday.
IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about 10% of the Greek economy, rose to 58.6 in June from 58.0 in May, marking the sharpest improvement since April 2000.
Readings above 50.0 indicate that activity is expanding.
"The Greek manufacturing sector continued to gain strength in June, amid the strongest rise in new orders for 21 years," said IHS Markit economist Sian Jones.
Strong client demand at home and abroad led to a marked increase in new order inflows while new export sales rose at the sharpest clip since February 2020.
Production growth in June was hampered by worsening supply-chain disruptions. The rate of output expansion was still the second-fastest since February 2020 but firms reported heightened capacity pressures.
"Despite a sharp upturn in hiring, pressure on capacity following severe raw material shortages hampered output growth, which slowed from that seen in May. Delays were reportedly exacerbated by greater global demand for inputs," Jones said.
Amid accommodative demand conditions, manufacturers raised their output charges, with the pace of selling price inflation the quickest since data collection for the series began in November 2002.
Production requirements led firms to add workers in June, with employment growth the steepest since the pandemic began, the survey showed.
"Efforts to retain customers and stabilise order inflows are likely to keep price rises muted, as such our current forecast for CPI remains at 0.3% year-on-year in 2021," Jones said. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Catherine Evans)
