Eurozone factory activity worsens at 37-month lows, PMI says

July 3 () –

The deterioration of manufacturing activity in the euro zone accelerated in June, according to the PMI index, which fell to 43.4 points from 44.8 the previous month, which implies the worst reading of the data in 37 months, according to S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank.

“There is increasing evidence that the investment-intensive industrial sector is reacting negatively to the ECB’s interest rate hikes,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The June survey reveals that the slowdown in the manufacturing sector in the euro zone is visible in all geographical areas, since the four largest countries in the bloc
they remained in contraction in June.

In this sense, the demand for products from the euro zone fell
considerably at the end of the second quarter, with weak sales being particularly evident in Austria, Germany
and Italy.

Likewise, manufacturing employment fell for the first time in June since January 2021 and business confidence fell to its lowest in seven months.

On the other hand, the drop in the demand for inputs and the better supply conditions contributed to a sharp decrease in the average prices paid, while the prices charged returned
down, and they did so at the fastest rate in three years.