European PMI Near Stagnant in December

January 2, 2015 Share Print 0

Euro zone manufacturing remained subdued in December, according to data out on Friday, marking an end to a year of widespread concerns about the health of the currency union’s economy.

The widely-followed Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 50.6 this month, slightly below a flash estimate of 50.8, but above November’s 16-month low of 50.1. A figure over 50 marks expansion in the sector.

In a release accompanying the data, Markit said industry remained “near-stagnant”.

“Euro zone factory activity more or less stagnated again in December, rounding off a year which saw an initial, promising-looking upturn fade away and stall in the second half of the year,” Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said in a note.
“The weakness of factory output, combined with the subdued service sector growth signalled by the flash PMI, suggests the eurozone economy grew by just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter.”

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.