Markets disappointed by PMI indices for France and Germany. The April data calculated by Markit and related to the first two economies of the Eurozone, numbers eagerly awaited by investors as they anticipate the level of activity in manufacturing and services, fell compared to March, remaining below analysts' forecasts.
In particular, the PMI composite index of Germany it dropped from 55,4 to 54,2 points. The manufacturing component alone recorded a decrease from 52,8 to 51,9 points, below the consensus, set at 53 points. The services PMI contracted instead from 55,4 to 54,4 points, also in this case disappointing the consensus (55,4 points). In any case, all values remained well above the 50 point threshold, which marks the border between expansion and contraction of economic activity.
as to France, between March and April the composite PMI decreased from 51,5 to 50,2 points. The indicator relating only to the manufacturing sector fell from 48,8 to 48,4 points (consensus at 49,1), thus aggravating the prospect of recession, while the survey on services fell from 52,4 to 50,8 points (consensus at 52,4).
Better news for Berlin and Paris comes from confidence. In Germany the forecast index calculated by Gfk and relating to consumer confidence rose to 10,1 points in May, the highest level for 13 years. "The climate among consumers has improved, but not uniformly and not at the same pace as in previous months", reads the note from Gkf. Indeed, the May figure is slightly lower than the average forecast by economists (10,2 points).
In France, on the other hand, business confidence recovered, rising between March and April from 99 to 101 points. The general index, which also includes construction, retail trade, wholesale trade and services, remained stable at 96.
