German manufacturing PMI falls to lowest since June 2009 in May
Investing.com
Published May 24, 2012 03:37AM ET
In a report, market research group Markit said that its preliminary German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined by 1.2 points to a seasonally adjusted 45.0 in May from a final reading of 46.2 in April.
Analysts had expected the index to rise by 0.8 points to 47.0 in May.
A reading above 50.0 on the index indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
New export orders fell at an accelerated pace in May, thereby extending the current period of contraction to 11 months.
Meanwhile, the report showed that service sector activity in Germany contracted at the same rate from a month earlier in May.
The preliminary services purchasing managers’ index remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 52.2 in May. Analysts had expected the index to dip 0.2 points to 52.0.
Commenting on the report, Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit said, “The underperformance of manufacturing relative to services has not been as extreme since the low point of the recession in early 2009, with a key driver then as now being a steep downturn in export sales.”
Following the release of the data, the euro added to losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.34% to trade at 1.2539, the lowest since July 20010.
Meanwhile, European stock markets turned mixed following the report. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 added 0.25%, while Germany's DAX shed 0.15%.
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Written By: Investing.com
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