Spain’s manufacturing economy expanded at an accelerated rate in April as firms bolstered production and employment levels in response to an uplift in market demand. Buoyed by positive output projections, manufacturers also increased their buying activity and sought to rebuild inventories at their plants. Price pressures picked up slightly, with the survey’s measure of input cost inflation the strongest for over a year, but competition and efforts to bolster demand led to another decline in output charges. The headline HCOB Spain Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI®) posted above the crucial 50.0 ... (full story)