Greek manufacturing growth solid in December, foreign orders pick up: PMI

ATHENS: Greek factory activity grew steadily in December thanks to solid output and brisk new orders from abroad, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index for manufacturing, which accounts for about 10 percent of the Greek economy, edged down to 53.8 in December from 54.0 in November but was still one of the strongest readings in 11 years and well above the 50 mark indicating growth in activity.

"Manufacturers continued to show resilience in December with output growth remaining strong and well above the series trend," said Sian Jones, IHS Markit economist.

Growth in export orders gained momentum with the pace of increase picking up to a three-month high.

"Although the upturn in new orders eased slightly, greater foreign demand led to the quickest rise in new export orders since September," Jones said.

Seeing a sustained rise in new business, firms continued to expand their workforce numbers. Despite dipping to a six-month low, the rate of job creation was one of the fastest in the survey's history.

On the price front, input price inflation softened to a 27-month low in December. Where cost burdens increased, firms pointed to higher raw materials prices, particularly metals and chemicals.

On the downside, the survey showed more discounting of output prices.

"In an effort to entice clients, firms dropped their factory gate prices for the second time in three months through increased discounting," Jones said.