The international financial services company reported on Tuesday that the Polish PMI "remained above 50.0 for the second month running at 50.7 in March, from 50.6 in February, indicating a sustained overall improvement in business conditions at manufacturers."
S&P Global said that demand for Polish manufactured goods "continued to recover in March," while new orders "rose for the second month running, and at the fastest rate since February 2022."
It added that "the 12-month outlook strengthened further in March, with confidence rising for the fourth successive month" and sentiment at the highest level since June 2021.
"Manufacturers attributed optimistic forecasts to recovering demand, new product releases, increased activity in the construction sector, new customers, the National Recovery Plan and higher exports," S&P Global also said.
Trevor Balchin, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, was cited as saying that "the recovery in the Polish manufacturing sector continued in March as faster growth in output and new orders pushed the headline PMI to the highest in nearly three years."
He added that exports "expanded for the first time since early-2022 amid signs of a wider European recovery."
'Third consecutive month of improvement': Polish finance minister
Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański welcomed the news, saying: "The PMI—a key economic indicator—has once again risen above the 50-point mark, reaching 50.7. This marks the third consecutive month of improvement and the highest level in three years."
Domański added: "Despite concerns over a potential trade war, forecasts for the next 12 months have improved again, and business optimism has increased for the fourth straight month."
The PMI is a composite indicator of manufacturing performance evaluated on the basis of new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases.
Any figure greater than 50 indicates an overall improvement in the sector.
Poland’s PMI in April 2020 fell to its lowest level on record amid coronavirus fears, sinking to 31.9 from 42.4 a month earlier at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
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Source: PAP, pmi.spglobal.com