Eurozone PMI at two-year high in January; France and Germany leading the recovery but Spain, Ireland and Greece fall further behind
Feb 1st, 2010 | By Finfacts Ireland Business & Finance Portal | Category: News worldwide
Final Eurozone PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) manufacturing sector data shows the sector started 2010 on a positive footing. The recoveries in production and new orders, which began at the end of Q3 last year, gained further traction in January. Rates of expansion for both variables were also faster than those signalled by their respective flash estimates. France and Germany leading the recovery but Spain and Greece fell further behind. The headline final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI - - a composite index based on measures of production, orders, employment, inventories and supplier performance - - posted 52.4 in January, its highest reading for two years. The index value was above both its earlier flash estimate of 52.0 and the final reading of 51.6 posted in December. The level of the PMI has risen in each month since hitting a record low last February and has now remained above the neutral 50.0 mark for four consecutive months.