Irish factory activity hovers near all-time peak -PMI

DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish manufacturing sector continued to rebound in June as the economy emerged from one of the strictest COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe, a survey showed on Thursday.

The AIB IHS Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for June came in at 64.0, just below May's reading of 64.1, which was the highest level recorded since the survey began in 1998.

On a quarterly basis, the PMI set a record high of 62.9 in the second quarter of 2021, well above the previous record of 58.6 set in the fourth quarter of 1999.

"Activity in the sector is clearly picking up strongly as economies reopen following the easing of COVID restrictions in Ireland and elsewhere over the second quarter of the year," said AIB chief economist Oliver Mangan.

"The sub-components of the Irish PMI survey all point to continuing rapidly improving business conditions in manufacturing."

But Mangan highlighted a rise in backlogs and warned that supply chains remain under pressure due "to Brexit-related customs checks, transport delays in shipping and raw materials shortages".

"These factors, combined with strengthening demand, saw further strong upward pressure on both input and output prices, with rises becoming more broad based," he said.

(Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Catherine Evans)