Last week, the BoE and ECB both increased rates by 50 basis point. The BoE seems to be closer to peak rates. Lagarde, however, left the ECB to pursue a half-point increase in March and likely more moves after that. Both sides of this channel are reporting growth that is greater than expected. But, the UK is still the under-performer among G7 countries, and long term growth potential has eroded markedly — also thanks to Brexit.
The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI In the January final reading, it was 48.8. Although the headline is still in negative territory, it has reached a 5-month high. The manufacturing output index climbed to 48.9. The January data was surprising strong. The PMI report indicated that finished goods stockpiles had declined for the first-time since May last year. Although order books continue to slide, optimism about the future of the year is rising.
The Services PMI is already back in expansion territory, and hit a 6-month high of 50.8, which helped to lift the S&P Global Eurozone Composite PMI 50.3. The final reading was a little higher than 50.2, which was a significant improvement on the 49.3…
