The international financial services company reported on Monday that the Polish PMI rose to 49.4, from 48.8 in April, "indicating the softest downturn of any month during the current 13-month sequence of deterioration."
S&P Global said that Polish manufacturers stepped up purchases and posted "a renewed expansion of output" during the month though new business continued to fall.
It added that "the 12-month outlook for production remained positive, but overall sentiment remained below the long-run average."
Higher output was "linked to tentative signs of recovery in market conditions, the securing of some raw materials and the opening of new stores," S&P Global also said.
Trevor Balchin, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, was cited as saying that Poland's PMI "remained in contraction territory in May, but the latest figure indicated the slowest downturn of any month in the current 13-month sequence of deterioration."
He added that "this relative improvement mainly reflected higher output and softer declines in new orders and employment."
Polish PMI 'highest in a year': finance minister
Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański welcomed the news, saying the country's PMI, a key economic indicator, "reached its highest level in a year."
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 an overall improvement in 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.
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Source: PAP, pmi.spglobal.com