As attention was firmly trained on the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, Germany and the eurozone posted a raft of purchasing managers’ indices which slipped under the radar a little. If we look closely at the readings, we can see they were a bit of a mixed bag, with some defying expectations on the upside while others came in below forecast.
Composite, manufacturing and services in Germany had been expected to post figures of 55.4, 55.7 and 55 respectively (from 55.6, 55.9 and 55 the previous month), but they actually came in at 55.3, 53.7 and 56.5. So, of the three, only services came in above expectations, although it was by some distance. Indeed, it was the highest expansion in services activity for eight months.
In the eurozone, composite, manufacturing and services were all expected to come in at 54.4 from (54.5, 54.6 and 54.4 the previous month). So, hardly any movement was predicted by analysts. They didn’t come in too wide of the mark either, posting readings of 54.2, 53.3 and 54.7 respectively. Once again, services surprised on the upside, which is pretty much how it has gone in the UK in recent times.
Regarding currency movements, the euro obviously had a strong day against sterling, but it was a different story against the dollar. Still, the euro has benefited from recent dollar weakness, although across the week it didn’t manage to make a whole cent.
