Both the EU & UK report solid rate of service sector growth.. |
The UK economy looks to have extended its 2024 recovery with an overall better than forecast PMI reading for February. Even though manufacturing continues to struggle below the growth number of 50 (47.1 versus 47 previously), as a services nation, the services figure is what really matters. A reading of 54.3 was unchanged from January and bettered the lower forecast of 54.1. This is a good sign and a strong number following the recent recession news. GBP has responded positively across the board, but the upside does remain limited for now. Before the UK numbers, we had the Euro-Zone's PMI release, which too was positive overall. France posted a strong bounce-back across and the EU as a whole hit the all-important 50 in services PMI for the first time since July last year. However, it didn't all go to plan as Germany posted it's worst manufacturing number (42.3) since October and ending 7 consecutive months of improvement in the sector. Europe's largest economy is having a hard time so far this year and at some point this will likely impact the Euro, unless something drastically changes.. |