In May the Eurozone composite PMI stood at 46 points, against 46,7 points the previous month. This is the final estimate made by Markit. It's about the steepest contraction in manufacturing and service industries since June 2009. The data relating exclusively to the the services sector, on the other hand, was equal to 46,7 points, higher than the consensus (46,5 points), but lower than the April survey (46,9 points).
As for theItaly, last month activity in the services sector marked the twelfth consecutive monthly contraction and confidence on the outlook for next year has dropped further, approaching the low of the last three years reached in December.
The PMI index for our country stood at 42,8 points, recovering slightly from the 42,3 recorded in April, when it had slipped to its lowest level since June 2009.
The figure thus remains far below the fateful "threshold of 50", which marks the boundary between contraction and growth.
"This result confirms that the recessionary picture continued into the second quarter -, commented Phil Smith, economist at Markit and author of the report - The rates of decline in activity and new orders in the services sector have approached the strongest recorded in the current economic crisis, while forecasts about activities in the next 12 months are almost at the historical lows of the survey”.
Production in Germany has also dropped, for the first time since last November. While the decline was modest, the pace of the decline was the fastest in nearly three years. The contraction is felt even more in France and Spain.
