November PMI rises 6.1 points to 43.7
Israel's purchasing managers' index remains well below 50-point level that separates manufacturing expansion from contraction
The PMI has been below 50 points for six months.
"Most of the components of the index recorded a rise (last) month but they are still under 50 points," the report said this week. "Industrial activity excluding the high-tech sector has been declining for the past year while industrial exports have shown significant weakness and even a drop in many industrial sectors.
"The manufacturing industry is highly sensitive to developments in the world and in light of relatively low global growth estimates and a recession in Europe, it is likely that the sector will not grow significantly in 2013 as well."
The PMI had jumped to 53.2 points in April, crossing the 50-point threshold for the first time since last October, but the index then fell for four straight months to a three-year low in August. It bounced 2.8 points in September before slipping in October.
The PMI index, compiled by Bank Hapoalim and the Israeli Purchasing Managers' Association, had reached a high of 59.1 in December 2010.
