Jan 24 (Reuters) – Key preliminary findings from Markit surveys of purchasing managers in Europe, released on Monday:
EUROZONE – OMICRON RESTRICTS SERVICE ACTIVITIES
LONDON – The economic recovery in the euro zone has slowed further since the start of January, as health restrictions implemented to try to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have penalized the service sector, shows the survey of IHS Markit.
The composite flash PMI index fell to 52.4 after 53.3 in December, the lowest since February and below the Reuters consensus, which gave it at 52.6.
That of services returned to its lowest level for nine months at 51.2 after 53.1 while economists expected it at 52.2. And the new business component in the sector fell to 50.8 from 52.5, the lowest since April.
“The Omicron wave resulted in another sharp drop in spending across many services early in the year, with tourism and leisure particularly hard hit,” said IHS Markit economist Chris Williamson.
The flash manufacturing PMI, on the other hand, reached a five-month high of 59.0 after 58.0, while the consensus had forecast it falling to 57.5.
GERMANY – BOTTLENECKS ARE RESOLVING
BERLIN – The partial resolving of bottlenecks in supply chains enabled the German industrial sector to record its strongest growth in five months in January, shows the IHS Markit survey.
The PMI manufacturing index reached 60.5 after 57.4 in December. In services, it rebounded to 52.2 after 48.7 in December, a figure which reflected a contraction in activity, while the Reuters consensus gave it down to 48.0.
The composite PMI, which combines the results for the two sectors, thus rose to 54.3 after 49.9.
“These data mark a positive start to the year and support an alleviation of fears over Omicron’s impact on the German economy in the first quarter,” said Phil Smith, Economist and Managing Partner at IHS Markit. .
FRANCE – A MORE BREAKING THAN EXPECTED
PARIS – Growth in the French private sector slowed more than expected in January, the COVID-19 epidemic and inflationary pressures weighing on activity, show the first results of the IHS Markit survey.
The flash PMI index for the services sector thus fell to 53.1 after 57.0 in December, while the Reuters consensus gave it at 55.3.
That of the manufacturing sector fell very slightly, to 55.5 after 55.6 last month.
The composite flash PMI came back to 52.7 after 55.8 whereas it was expected at 54.5.
This decline reflects the impact of the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic and that of rising energy prices, explains IHS Markit.
“Supply issues are still impacting the economy, especially manufacturers, but it looks like the worst is over, with delivery times increasing much less than most of 2021,” said economist Joe Hayes. senior at IHS Markit.
UNITED KINGDOM – ACTIVITY IS SLOWING DOWN, PRICES ARE GOING UP
LONDON — UK private sector activity suffered an unexpected slowdown in January as inflationary pressures remained strong, the IHS Markit survey shows.
The composite PMI index fell to 53.4 from 53.6 in December, while the Reuters consensus gave it up to 55.0.
The services PMI fell to 53.3 from 53.6 and that of manufacturing industry fell to 56.9 from 57.9, reflecting an improvement in delivery times.
In services, the components of prices paid and prices invoiced rose after falling in December.
“With inflationary pressures remaining high and near record highs, this increases the likelihood that the Bank of England will raise interest rates further after its next meeting,” said Chris Williamson.
(Reuters offices, French version Marc Angrand, editing by Blandine Hénault)