Weak euro continues to aid Irish manufacturing sector

The country’s manufacturing sector expanded rapidly again last month with the weakness of the euro continuing to benefit the competitiveness of exporters to the UK, in particular.

New product ranges, rolled out at the beginning of the year, are also starting to drive improvements in manufacturers’ output as the headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figure reached 56.8.

Despite a slight decline from the 15-year high of 57.5 in February, the rate of expansion in the sector remains encouragingly strong, according to Investec Ireland chief economist, Philip O’Sullivan.