020 7898 0500It was an extremely busy day for the eurozone yesterday, with a raft of PMI data on the schedule. Germany’s services PMI climbed to 55.2 in August from 54.1 the month before and above expectations of 54.3. It is the strongest expansion in the services sector since February, mainly because of sharp increases in new orders.
However, the picture was less rosy elsewhere, as the manufacturing sector slipped from 56.9 to 56.1, which was below expectations of 56.5. It is the second-lowest reading for 20 months. Although the reading was disappointing, the German economy appears to extremely resilient and has gone some way to dispelling fears of a global trade slowdown. The eurozone’s PMI releases weren’t too far from expectations, with composite, manufacturing and services coming in at 54.4, 54.6 and 54.4 respectively.
The main release of the day was the ECB’s monetary policy meeting accounts, which were closely watched for indications of future policy. The minutes revealed that there could be an interest rate rise in September 2019, while the main risks for the eurozone’s economy are said to be the threat of a global trade war and increased protectionism.
