FNB economist says the manufacturing sector remains under pressure [SOUND]

# FNB senior economist, Thanda Sithole, says operating conditions for domestic manufacturers remain unfavourable, as reflected in the continued decline in the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index. The manufacturing sector recorded its steepest annual decline in more than a year, with production falling 6.3-percent year on year in April. Sithole says broad-based weakness in manufacturing activity has persisted through the first four months of the year, with output down by 3.4-percent compared to the same period last year: