News
PMI eases to 53.5
By ECCT staff writers
Taiwan's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May compiled by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) came in at 53.5. While this marked an expansion of manufacturing activity for the 23rd consecutive month, the pace of expansion slowed by 2.8 points from the previous month.
CIER attributed the slower pace in expansion mainly to drops in the sub-indexes for new orders and production to 45.6 and 47.9, respectively, both at their lowest levels since July 2020. In addition, the PMI sub-index for the business outlook over the next six months saw its first contraction since August 2020, falling by 8.9 points from April to 44, according to the CIER.
Meanwhile, the service sector outlook has been affected by growing concerns about the spike in Covid-19 cases over the past month. According to CIER data, this caused a steep decline month-on-month into negative territory of the official non-manufacturing index (NMI), which covers service sector activity. CIER’s NMI fell 10 points from a month earlier to 45.1, its lowest level since May 2021, which CIER said indicated weakness in domestic demand.
