MADRID: Spain's manufacturing sector expanded for the ninth straight month in August as new orders flooded in and firms took on more staff as the economy recovers, a survey showed on Monday.
Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of manufacturing companies stood at 52.8 in August, down from 53.9 in July, but holding above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.
New orders came in at the fastest pace since before the country's six-year-long economic downturn.
This meant employers hired more workers, with employment rising for the eighth month in a row. Output prices fell for the first time since April as companies discounted to help draw in customers.
Spain's economy was in or near recession from 2008 until mid-2013 but has bounced back since then to become one of the fastest-growing economies in the euro zone.
The economy grew from April to June at its fastest quarterly rate since before the financial crisis, outpacing the bulk of the euro zone as falling prices helped drive a rebound in domestic demand. - Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence.
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