Poland's manufacturing sector suffered its sharpest deterioration in almost a year in June, as a steep drop in new orders dragged production back into contraction and sent business confidence to its weakest level in 2-1/2 years.
The S&P Global Poland Manufacturing PMI tumbled to an 11-month low of 46.1 in June from 49.4 in May, marking the 14th consecutive month the index has languished below the 50.0 mark separating expansion from contraction. All five components weighed negatively on the headline figure.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a headline reading of 49.7.
New orders fell at their fastest pace since June 2025, with manufacturers blaming weaker demand, an economic slowdown, tight client budgets and difficulties attracting new customers.
Export orders dropped for a seventh straight month, while output fell at its sharpest rate in 11 months. Despite the production cuts, inventories of unsold finished goods piled up at the fastest pace since September 2024, and factories trimmed payrolls for the 14th month running.
Trevor Balchin, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted that "the cut to output was the steepest for nearly a year, but nevertheless stocks of unsold goods rose at the fastest pace for 21 months."
There were tentative bright spots on prices, with both input and output cost inflation easing to three-month lows.