In October Italy's manufacturing PMI was the highest in the Eurozone, settling at 54,1 points. He communicated it this morning Markit Economics, specifying that last month's figure for the entire Eurozone stood at 52,3 points, against 52 in September. The flash estimate was unchanged at 52 points. THE Purchasing Manager Indexes they are among the most followed macroeconomic indicators by economists, managers and traders and are created through the elaboration of the answers to questionnaires sent to the purchasing managers of many companies.
Here are the changes recorded between September and October by the manufacturing PMI index in the main European economies:
ITALY: from 52,7 to 54,1 points, above expectations (53,1). This is the highest level since last July, for the ninth consecutive month above the 50 point threshold, which marks the border between expansion and contraction of activity. “According to the sample companies – commented Phil Smith, economist at Markit and author of the report on Italy – it is encouraging to see a recovery on both the national and international markets, which portend a long recovery phase. Manufacturing enterprises at the same time benefited from the third consecutive month of decline in input prices, caused by the largest contraction in nearly two years in global commodities. This caused a further drop in sales prices which inevitably increases the growth prospects for the last few months of the current year”.
GERMANY: from 52,3 to 52,1, beyond the preliminary estimate (51,6). The figure is above 50 for the eleventh month in a row.
FRANCE: unchanged at 50,6 points, just below the flash estimate (50.7).
SPAIN: from 51,7 to 51,3 points, below the estimates (52). It is the slowest growth rate since December 2013.
"Remains disappointing and insignificant the recovery of the manufacturing sector in the Eurozone - says Chris Williamson, chief economist of Markit -, the October survey in fact signaled an annual growth in production of just 2%, a rather weak performance considering the stimuli from the central bank at the moment in place. With manufacturing weakening, employment levels at their lowest in eight months and selling prices falling at the fastest rate since February, it is understandable how the ECB is evaluating further incentives".
In any case, some positive news also comes from the survey: “New foreign orders (including intra-Eurozone trade) showed the largest monthly increase in four months – continued Williamson -. This could perhaps ease concerns about how weaker growth in China and other emerging markets could have a negative effect on the eurozone's recovery. The recovery is starting to show signs of fatigue in those countries which at the beginning of the year had recorded a strong increase, with growth rates slowing down in Ireland and Spain. The weak data in Germany and the current near-stagnation in France have somehow made that the best results came surprisingly from Italy".
THE REACTION OF THE BAGS
After the publication of the PMI data, the Stock Exchange of Milano earns 0,64%. Positive too Frankfurt (+ 0,46%) and Paris (+ 0,16%).
Attachments: Source: Markit Economics.
