US back on top?
The latest Flash Manufacturing PMI numbers came in 56.7, its highest level for almost four years.
The Eurozone is recovering
The latest Flash Composite Output Index remains close to January’s 31-month high. New orders rose for a seventh successive month, and the rate of growth accelerated to reach the highest since June 2011.
Germany is raking it in
Flash Germany Composite Output Index is at a 32-month high, Services Activity Index is at a 3-month high.
However, its not all strawberries and cream…
France faces an uphill task
Although its Manufacturing Output Index, at 50.5, is at a 7-month high, Services Activity Index continued to fall and is presently at a 9-month low. New orders received by French private sector companies fell for a fifth consecutive month in February.
Big picture
Eurozone M3 money supply has been contracting since March. Germany is in wage deflation. And France’s core prices have been dropping for months, even if the core CPI index is still just positive at 0.1% on a year-to-year basis.
The gulf between periphery and core is as wide as ever:
Further tightening of US monetary policy might very well tip the Eurozone over and force the ECB to embark on their own version of QE.
Interesting times…
Sources:
- Markit
- France is looking straight down the barrel of a deflation shock
- Credit Suisse Research
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.