April 2008 Purchasing Index slowed down

The index's export demand component fell by 8.1 percentage points to 48.9% in April from the previous month after 37 months of expansion
 
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), for April 2008, published last week show that business in Israel slowed badly in April, after 29 months of growth.
 
Dun & Bradstreet, which publishes the index, says it plunged by 7.9% to 42.9%.
Any value below 50% indicates slowdown.
 
"The local economy is experiencing a slowdown in exports as a result of the slowdown in the US economy over the past three months, which in turn has reduced the demand for Israeli products abroad. At the same time, domestic demand of products has also contracted. In addition, the Pessah holiday fell in April, leading to a reduction in activity and demand. As a result of these forces, there is a slowdown in the production lines of factories in Israel," said economists at D&B Israel.
 
The index's export demand component fell by 8.1 percentage points to 48.9% in April from the previous month after 37 months of expansion. During the same period, the domestic demand component dropped by 9 percentage points to 41% compared down from the previous month.