DUBLIN - Ireland's manufacturing sector posted modest growth in October as demand remained weak, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped to 51.4 in October from 51.5 the previous month, hovering above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Ireland outperformed the wider euro zone's flash manufacturing PMI, which last week slipped to 46.6.
The survey showed the output subindex returning to expansion for the first time in five months while the contraction in new orders eased.
"There was a slight increase in output as manufacturers continued to work to clear order backlogs and rebuild stocks of finished goods," AIB's chief economist Oliver Mangan said.
However he added that there were "some warning signals in the Irish data, with new orders, including export orders, declining for a fifth consecutive month as high inflation weighs on consumer demand, both at home and abroad."
