Global headwinds shake Irish factory growth outlook

Irish manufacturing continued to grow last month, but the pace of expansion was the slowest for two years — raising fears about the the outlook for expansion.

Other surveys by purchasing managers across the eurozone showed a worse picture as output from the region’s factories expanded at their weakest level in February for a year.

Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) will make gloomy reading for the ECB, coming little more than a week before its March 10 policy setting meeting.