German PMI manufacturing dropped to 58.4 in March, down from 60.6, below expectaiton of 59.8. That’s an 8-month low.
German PMI services dropped to 54.2 in March, down from 55.3 and missed expectation of 55.0. That’s a 7-month low.
Here is the full release: Germany PMI drops to eight-month low in March.
Quote from Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit:
“Growth in Germany’s private sector has pulled back sharply since the start of the year, with the pace of expansion in March well below January’s near seven-year high.
“However, with the strong expansions seen at the end of last year and in the opening months of 2018 already baked in, official numbers are expected to show robust GDP growth in the opening quarter. Latest IHS Markit forecasts show growth picking up from the somewhat disappointing 0.6% seen in the fourth quarter of 2017.
“Interestingly, the survey’s anecdotal evidence also found an unusually high prevalence of staff sickness affecting business activity, to suggest that the extent of the slowdown in March might be partly due to temporary factors.
“It is manufacturing that has lost the most momentum, with growth in goods production slowing particularly sharply to its weakest since the start of 2017. The headline manufacturing PMI, however, is somewhat supported by the suppliers’ delivery times component, which has hit a fresh record-low – its third in the past four months.
“Capacity pressures remain a theme, with firms noting not only bottlenecks in supply chains but also a solid and accelerated increase in backlogs of work. This bodes well for strong job creation continuing in the months ahead.”
