The PMI index fell to 40.5 percent, the lowest reading since the poll began in 1998. Almost 45 percent of polled logistics managers reported a drop in orders, with just 10 percent, twice fewer than last month, reporting a rise. The slump is mainly attributed to a decline in export orders as the Eurozone enters a recession.
The negative manufacturing news and a reported 0.4 percent drop in inflation in November have raised the prospect of another cut in interest rate at the Monetary Policy Council's (RPP) December meeting.