Eurozone PMI Manufacturing rose to 35.4, up from 18.1, below expectation of 38.0. PMI Services rose to 28.7, up from 12.0, above expectation of 23.9. PMI Composite rose to 30.5, up from 13.6.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said:
“The eurozone saw a further collapse of business activity in May but the survey data at least brought reassuring signs that the downturn likely bottomed out in April. “Second quarter GDP is still likely to fall at an unprecedented rate, down by around 10% compared to the first quarter, but the rise in the PMI adds to expectations that the downturn should continue to moderate as lockdown restrictions are further lifted heading into the summer.
“An additional concern is that demand is likely to remain extremely weak for a prolonged period, putting further pressure on companies to make more aggressive job cuts as government job retention schemes expire. We therefore expect GDP to slump by almost 9% in 2020 and for a full recovery to take several years.”
