Eurozone economic recovery grows
Print Edition
The eurozone economic recovery that began in Germany has spread to some smaller members but shrinking French manufacturing is hampering a more robust rebound.
Business surveys released yesterday showed factory production in the 17-nation bloc accelerated as expected in October, getting close to August’s 26-month high, but still weak compared with historical levels.
Markit’s final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.3 in October from 51.1, in line with an earlier flash reading and with the consensus forecast of economists. It hit a 26-month high of 51.4 in August.
But Germany and France, the bloc’s two biggest economies, went in opposite directions.
Germany showed activity picked up last month, with its index rising to 51.7 from 51.1. In France manufacturing activity shrank to 49.1, its 20th month below the 50 mark that divides growth and contraction.
Trouble spots Spain and Italy also diverged, with both growing but the latter at a slower pace than previously.
The lack of substantial growth overall, and with prices barely rising last month, has heightened some expectations the European Central Bank will cut interest rates from already record lows when it meets later this week.
An index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI due tomorrow that provides a good indicator of overall growth, rose to 52.9 from 52.2.
“On past performance it is still only consistent with pretty weak industrial production growth. It’s rising — but it’s hardly at booming levels,” said Ben May at Capital Economics.
Healthy growth in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, pulled the troubled region out of its longest recession in the second quarter, but it will probably only grow 0.2-0.3 percent each quarter through to the end of next year, according to Reuters polls.
France, the eurozone’s second-largest economy, shook off a shallow recession in the second quarter with better-than-expected growth of 0.5 percent, but French national statistics office Insee forecasts a flat third quarter.
“The GDP figures for the second quarter certainly overstate the underlying pace of growth in France and these latest numbers underline the point that is not in the midst of a strong and sustained recovery,” May said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
