Polish factory downturn strong in Sept, but declines soften -PMI

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's manufacturing sector remained in a severe downturn in September although there were signs of softer declines in several key measures, a survey showed on Monday.

S&P Global's Polish manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 43.9 in September from 43.1 in August, remaining below the 50.0 line that separates growth from contraction for the 17th consecutive month. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a rise to 43.7.

"The latest survey data raised hopes that Poland's steep manufacturing downturn since mid-2022 had passed the worst phase," said Trevor Balchin, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"That said, current and near-term conditions remain very weak, with further sharp falls in new orders, output, backlogs and input purchases in September, albeit more slowly than in August," he added.

Output, new orders, backlogs and purchasing fell at slower rates than in August, and the 12-month outlook was among the best registered since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the survey showed.

Still, employment shrank at the fastest rate in nearly a year, while input and output prices continued to slump, though at a slower pace than in recent months, according to the data.

The drop in new orders - the largest index component - at Polish manufacturers remained the biggest drag in September, extending its contraction sequence to 19 months, but the rate of shrinkage eased for the first time in four months, the survey showed.

(Reporting by Karol Badohal; Editing by Hugh Lawson)