The eurozone has a fall in the Purchasing Managers’ Index from 46.1 points in March to 45.7 points in April. It is worthy of note that the index has not reached the neutral 50-points level for 22 consecutive months. The number of new orders in April decreased at a sharper pace compared to the previous months. It is for this reason that the manufacturers decided to reduce their purchase volumes.
Southern European countries have had the best industrial performance in recent months. Greece and Spain had an increase in their industrial activity in April (55.2 points and 52.2 points, respectively). Among the northern European countries, only the Netherlands had positive performance of 51.3 points.
However, the positive performance of these three countries failed to lead to an increase in the eurozone activity. Germany, France, and Italy have pessimistic outlook – their indicators are significantly below 50 points (42.5 points, 45.3 points, and 47.3 points, respectively).
Poland was unpleasantly surprised – its April PMI index fell by more than two points. Despite the fact that the March index was equal to 48 points, which is close to the neutral 50-point threshold, in the April index fell to 45.9 points. This decline was the highest since July 2022. Four of the five sub-indexes fell – new orders, employment, delivery times, and inventories. Production was the only sub-index that remained stable.
New orders have fallen for 26 straight months, which is the longest period on record. The April fall was the sharpest this year and was characterised by weak internal demand and weak demand in pivotal off-shore markets, especially Germany, France, and Italy.
The employment indicator continues to be affected by the ongoing negative trend in European industry. Layoffs at manufacturing companies will still continue, even though the pace will slow.
Source: trans.info