Manufacturing slowed in May as the sector lost momentum, held back by sharp slowdowns in the growth of output and new orders, new data has shown, writes CIARA O'BRIEN. The NCB Manufacturing PMI, which provides a measure of the health of the manufacturing industry, fell to 51.8 from 56 in April, while output index fell to 52.6 from 58.7, the weakest rise in six months.

“The reading indicated that while operating conditions in the sector strengthened again over the month, the improvement was the weakest since November 2010,” NCB said. Chief economist at NCB Brian Devine said it was “worrying” that the index was falling towards 50 once more, suggesting that the pace of activity in the manufacturing sector generally is slowing.