Article source
Financial Times
Article date
Thu, Nov 30, 2017
Factories across the world were at their busiest for decades during November when a global upswing in economic activity and trade boosted manufacturing activity.
In surveys published on Friday, the Dutch manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for November hit a record high, the Italian index reported the strongest new orders in 17 years and Ireland’s the strongest rate of growth for 18 years.
Overall eurozone manufacturing expanded at the second-highest rate on record. The IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index for the currency bloc came in at 60.1. Anything above 50 indicates expansion, a reading beaten only by one survey in April 2000.