Summary:
In what could be a sign that the growth momentum in the eurozone could be slowing, Markit’s flash Purchase managers index (PMI) surveys signaled a slowdown for the second month in a row for July.
Still, despite the slowdown, activity remains at one of the strongest paces of expansions in over six years. Data from IHS Markit showed that the eurozone’s composite output index slowed for a second consecutive month. It was down from 56.3 in June to 55.8 in July.
Eurozone Flash PMI’s and GDP expectations (Source: IHS Markit)
Despite the headline weakness, data showed that other components such as new orders remained at a 6-year high. This showed that growth could eventually pick up in the coming months. Job creation was also seen getting a lift with companies expected to expand the workforce in line with growing demand.
According to the data from Markit, there were also signals that the employment sector was in for one of the biggest expansions in recent decades. Most of the employment gains from factories. The strong optimism in the labor market also suggested that companies expected to see future business conditions improving.
The average price of goods and services showed a slower pace of increase. This comes after a weak pace of increase just the month before. The price of goods and services is expected to show that inflation in the eurozone was likely to remain sluggish.
Q3 GDP in the eurozone is expected to rise 0.6%
Based on the flash estimates, the data was seen to be consistent with the GDP rising at a quarterly pace of 0.6% after economic activity was seen to expand at a pace of 0.7% in the three months ending June.
