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VIENNA, May 28 (Reuters) - Austria's seasonally-adjusted PMI rose to 39.3 in May from 39.0 in April, showing the decline in manufacturing is still marked but losing momentum, the Bank Austria Purchasing Managers' Index released on Thursday showed.
Slightly stronger figures for output and new orders -- the main index drivers -- pushed the May PMI to the highest level since October, but the general downward trend is still severe, said Markit Economics, which compiles the survey.
Figures below 50 show a contraction while figures above 50 show growth. The output sub-index was still far away from 50 but higher than in any month since last October.
"Output contracted at a marked pace in May, extending the current period of reduction to twelve months," Markit said. "Panellists indicated that falling new business levels were the principal cause of the decline."
New orders, too, continued to show a marked decline but the pace of the decline was the slowest since September.
The headline PMI index hit a record low of 33.1 in January.
Austria's gross domestic product declined by 2.8 percent in the first quarter in the worst contraction of the post-war era, mainly driven down by a sharp decline in exports. [ID:nLF469812]
Austria's main economic researchers are expected to lower their outlook for the Alpine economy next month.
They currently forecast a contraction of 2.2 to 2.7 percent this year as they predict the drop in exports to be even more dramatic than previously expected. [ID:nLP441527].
The PMI index is based on a survey of 300 Austrian companies carried out by Markit Economics for Bank Austria. It is modelled on the closely-watched U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index.
Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence. To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: http://www.markit.com/information/register/reuters-pmi-subscriptions
For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com
(Reporting by Boris Groendahl; Editing by Victoria Main)