Spanish manufacturing grows for tenth straight month in September - PMI

MADRID, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Spain's manufacturing sector expanded for the 10th straight month in September amid an economic recovery as new orders and companies continued to hire more staff, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of manufacturing firms reached 52.6 in September, down slightly from 52.8 in August though still above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

Input prices fell for the first time since April, the survey showed, while a rise in new orders and the start of new projects after the summer months led to production increasing at a quicker pace than in August.

Companies took on new staff at the fastest pace in three months as some anticipated further growth in business, Markit said.

Spain has emerged from a deep recession to become of the fastest-growing economies in the euro zone this year. The government last week hiked its gross domestic product (GDP)

growth forecast for 2014 to 1.3 percent from 1.2 percent.

((Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Hugh Lawson))