The purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Polish manufacturing industry increased for the second straight month in June and exceeded market expectations as new orders increased for the first time since the start of 2012, a survey compiled by financial information company Markit Economics for HSBC showed.

The index, which monitors output, new orders, employment, stock levels and prices in the goods-producing sector, advanced to 49.3 points in June from 48 in May but stayed below the 50 threshold that signals expansion of the sector for the 15th month running. Yet, the latest figure was the second-highest in the current sequence of sub-50.0 readings, the pollster said. Market consensus was 48.3pts.

New export orders that grew for the second time in more than two years helped new business rebound in June although the pace of expansion was marginal. The rise in new orders, however, did not lead to higher output mainly due to destocking efforts of manufacturers, Markit said. Backlogs of work kept on decreasing in June but at the weakest pace since December 2011.

Manufacturing employment also continued to shrink in June, registering its 10^th consecutive month of decrease.

Inflationary pressures remained weak last month with average input prices falling for the sixth month running and prices charged for finished manufactured goods going down for the seventh straight month.

Poland’s June PMI data signals that the sector is nearing stabilisation after months of falling production, Agata Urbanska, economist for Central & Eastern Europe at HSBC, said. The reading also suggests it might swing into growth in the third quarter as expectations for the Polish economy are for a slow recovery to follow after it bottomed in the first half of 2013.