LONDON (Reuters) – Private sector activity in the euro zone grew at its fastest pace in a year in May, thanks to sustained demand for services, while manufacturing sector activity showed signs of slowing improvement, according to the HCOB/S&P Global survey of purchasing managers released Thursday.
The composite “flash” PMI rose to 52.3 this month, its third consecutive month of expansion, compared to 51.7 in April and a consensus of 52.0.
The 50 mark separates growth and contraction in activity.
“The situation is encouraging: the May composite PMI suggests that the euro zone economy has been growing for three months and is strengthening,” notes Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
The pace of price increases reached its lowest since November, while the producer price index fell from 53.7 to 52.5 in May.
The PMI indicator for the services sector remained stable at 53.3, an eleven-month high but below the consensus of 53.5.
The demand subindex reached its highest in a year, at 53.6 from 52.8 in April.
The PMI indicator for the manufacturing sector touched a 15-month high of 47.4, compared to 45.7 in April and a consensus of 46.2. The production sub-index is approaching the 50 mark, at 49.6 in May compared to 47.3 in April.
The expectations indicator rose to 60.1 from 59.1 the previous month, its strongest reading since February 2022.
(Written by Jonathan Cable, Corentin Chappron, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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