Certain Eurozone countries are starting to gradually restore their industrial activity, but the two largest economies in the EU remain stagnant.
According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence business activity index, Europe’s industrial sector is still struggling to dig itself out of the hole. The PMI for the Eurozone amounted to 46.1 points in March, which is 0.4 points lower than in February.
The production level in the Eurozone has been on a downward trend for 12 months now. Due to the drop in purchases, the stocks of means of production accumulated during the pandemic continue to shrink, decreasing for the fourteenth consecutive month. The prices of both means of production and final products have dropped: companies are trying to compete on prices in a market characterized by low demand.
However, the expectations of representatives of the German manufacturing sector are now more optimistic than in previous months. They are hoping for improved demand in the second half of the year.
Despite the general downturn in the Eurozone, the manufacturing activity in Spain increased in March for the second month in a row, Italy also demonstrated signs of recovery after 11 months of decline.
Source: trans.info