Has the economic slowdown ended and will there be a recovery in 2013? After a flood of poor macroeconomic data, it was announced today that the Israel Purchasing Managers Index, compiled by Bank Hapoalim and the Israel Purchasing and Logistics Managers Association, rose by 5 points in January 2013 to 49.3 points. Most components of the index rose, even exceeding the 50-point dividing line between economic expansion and contraction.
Bank Hapoalim's economic department, headed by Prof. Leo Leiderman, says that the strongest increases were in the Index's export demand component, which rose by 12 points in January to 52.3 points, and in the employment component, which rose by 8 points to 58.2 points.
The JPMorgan Global Purchasing Managers Index rose by another 1.4 points in January to 51.5 points, the highest level in ten months. "The improvement in the index indicates expansion of economic activity in all countries, except for Europe and Japan. We also note that there was improvement in these countries, with the index nearing 50 points," says Bank Hapoalim.
Bank Hapoalim added, "The Israel Purchasing Managers Index has risen for three consecutive months, and is nearing the 50-point dividing line. There was strong improvement in the exports demand and employment components in January. Similar trends were seen purchasing managers indexes for other countries, and the Israel Purchasing Managers Index may have been influenced by the rise in global orders."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 18, 2013
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