EZ manufacturing PMI rises to 46.6 in January
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Monday 03 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - Pressure on Europe's struggling manufacturing sector eased in January, but was still some way from a recovery, according to a survey published on Monday.
The eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 46.6 in January rising from 45.1 in December - an eight-month high, S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) said.
It also revealed that the sector's output index also hit an eight-month high, jumping to 47.1 in January from December's 44.3. Both readings are still well below the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
"It's definitely too early to talk about green shoots in the manufacturing sector, but we see the increase in the HCOB PMI as a first step towards stabilisation, ending two months of the deepening of the recession," said HCOB Chief Economist Cyrus de la Rubia.
"Germany and France hold the red lantern in the eurozone's manufacturing sector, with Austria and Italy not faring much better."
"Higher input prices are a challenge for the manufacturing sector, given its weak economic position over the past two years. These higher input prices, partly due to average oil prices rising by almost 7% in January, could also pose a challenge for the ECB, as the previous easing of overall inflation was largely due to lower energy prices."
De la Rubia added that even with the threat of tariffs on the European Union by the new US administration "confidence in the future has made a remarkable jump".
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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