The index indicates the sixth deterioration in business conditions over the past seven months, registering the sharpest decline since September 2021, due to weakened demand.

New orders declined at the fastest pace in 20 months, with export orders falling for the third consecutive month. As a result, firms also reduced output for the third successive month at a marked pace that was the fastest since January.

Meanwhile, employment continued to decline, albeit to a lesser extent compared to the previous month. Purchasing activity fell for the third straight month, while delivery times improved to the joint-largest extent since February, 2015.

With regard to prices, input prices declined for the first time in three years, while output prices also fell for the second month running. Lastly, business confidence deteriorated for the third month in a row to drop to their weakest level since last November.

Source: VOV