Euro area: Manufacturing strengthens as services stall – Commerzbank

Commerzbank’s Senior Economist Dr. Vincent Stamer notes that Euro area business sentiment has stabilized at a moderate level, with the composite PMI edging up from 52.0 to 52.1 in August, slightly above consensus. Manufacturing PMI has risen to a four-year high, supported by German public investment, while services remain stagnant and below 50 in France and Germany.

Manufacturing outperforms services in PMIs

"Business sentiment in the euro area has stabilized at a moderate level. Following the strong recovery in recent months, the composite Purchasing Managers’ Index rose marginally in August from 52.0 to 52.1. The consensus had expected a slightly lower figure."

"Apparently, the uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Persian Gulf and the resulting rise in energy prices are currently weighing significantly less on businesses in the euro area than they did in the spring."

"Overall, the PMI thus remains in a range where the economy has historically experienced moderate growth (Chart 1). In the eurozone’s two largest economies, the composite sentiment indicator declined slightly in each case—in France from 49.4 to 48.8 and in Germany from 51.3 to 51.0."

"While the composite index has moved sideways, the PMI for manufacturing has continued to rise (Chart 2). At 52.8, the sub-index reached its highest level in four years. Public investment in Germany likely contributed to this as well: In Germany, the industrial indicator also rose to a multi-year high of 54.1."

"In contrast, the services sector remained stagnant in August. The fact that the sub-index for service providers did not decline is likely due to the figures for Spain and Italy, which have not yet been released. In France and Germany, sentiment among service providers fell noticeably below the 50-point mark again."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor. Know more.)