Manufacturing PMIs (Nov) – 01/12 –these key indicators have continued to look weak, with economic activity in this sector in Germany and France stuck firmly in contraction territory for the last 16 months.
Economic activity in Spain and Italy has been slightly better but even here we've started to see significant weakness. Last week's flash manufacturing numbers saw Germany and France economic activity see divergent fortunes, with Germany edging up from 40.8 to 42.3, while France got worse slipping back from 42.8 to 42.6.
As for Italy and Spain, October saw a slowdown to 44.9 and 45.1 respectively, in a sign that while manufacturing had been more resilient initially during the summer months, even here we are starting to see the effects that higher rates are having on economic activity.
