The international financial services company reported on Wednesday that the Polish PMI rose to 47.5 in January, from 45.6 in December.
But overall "Poland's manufacturing economy endured another challenging month in early 2023," S&P Global said.
"Although rates of decline generally softened, output and new orders both continued to fall, whilst jobs were lost again," it added.
"Purchasing activity was lowered markedly as firms continued to pursue destocking policies," amid a challenging economic climate at home and abroad, according to S&P Global.
"Confidence in the future did however improve to its highest level since last May," it reported.
Paul Smith, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, was cited as saying that "Polish manufacturers endured a somewhat challenging start to the year," with market conditions remaining "subdued, characterised by weak demand for Polish manufactured goods both at home and abroad."
He added that price inflation remained "stubbornly high, underpinned by elevated prices for key inputs, though it is hoped that this will be a blip in what otherwise seems a broad disinflationary environment."
'Hopes that the worst of the industrial recession is behind us'
Meanwhile, "rises in a number of key indices" added further to "hopes that the worst of the industrial recession is behind us," Smith said.
He added that confidence about the future "has subsequently risen, reaching its highest level since May 2022 amid hopes of a more stable economic environment in the months ahead."
The PMI is a composite indicator of manufacturing performance evaluated on the basis of new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases.
Any figure greater than 50 indicates overall improvement of the sector.
Poland’s PMI in April 2020 fell to its lowest level on record amid coronavirus fears, sinking to 31.9 from 42.4 a month earlier at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, pmi.spglobal.com