(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 1 apr - In March, Spain's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector fell to 48.7 from 50.0 in February, the weakest reading since April 2025 and third time in the past four months that the PMI has fallen below the 50.0 no-change mark, according to data released by S&P Global.

A reading above 50 signals expanding sector activity while one below a contraction.

'Spain's manufacturing economy returned to contraction territory during March as the Middle East war put pay to any hopes in February of a short-term improvement in performance," commented Paul Smith, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"Output and new orders both fell, whilst confidence collapsed in the face of hostilities in the Middle East with firms extremely worried about the prospect of a prolonged global economic slump in the face of an energy-induced surge in inflation.

'Much of the outlook remains dependent on how the conflict now unfolds. A quick resolution would likely only mean a temporary setback for sector performance, but for the moment, business conditions have deteriorated noticeably. Alongside the slump in confidence, input cost inflation has accelerated rapidly and now stands at its highest level since late 2022.

Not surprisingly, supply-chain disruption is also widespread, with input delivery times lengthening markedly. And firms are somewhat understandably responding to heightened uncertainty and falling order books by cutting jobs and lowering.

purchasing activity accordingly.'

(RADIOCOR) 01-04-26 09:45:55 (0202) 5 NNNN