RECOVERY? The non-manufacturing index rose to 54.4 last month, ending four months of decline, with service firms optimistic about prospects six months ahead
Taipei Times
Date: Jul 02, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
The downturn in Taiwan’s manufacturing industry eased last month while service-oriented firms saw a solid boost, fueling hope that the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic might have touched bottom, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.
The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 47.2 last month, up 2.4 points from 44.8 one month earlier, indicating a milder contraction.
PMI scores of lower than 50 signify a decline, while those above the threshold indicate expansion. The latest data signified a third straight month of retreat.
“The pace of decline flattened in June, a positive development for manufacturers,” CIER president Chang Chuang-chang (張傳章) told a media briefing. [FULL STORY]