Germany PMI Manufacturing rose to 36.8 in May, up from 34.5, but missed expectation of 40.0. PMI Services rebounded strongly to 31.4, up from 16.2, beat expectation of 26.0. PMI Composite rose to 31.4, up from 17.4.
Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit said: “Any hopes of a swift pick-up in activity across the German economy following the easing of lockdown restrictions have been somewhat dashed by May’s flash PMI survey, which shows activity down again across both the manufacturing and service sectors. The rate of decline in activity has eased considerably since the peak of virus containment measures in April, but we are still a long way off business as usual and the path to recovery remains unclear. With demand expected to remain below ‘normal’ levels for quite some time, firms are continuing to cut workforce numbers at a worrying rate in order to better align capacity with current conditions. The scale of job losses is a key risk to the longer-term outlook.”
