The upturn in Italy’s manufacturing economy gathered speed at the start of the second quarter, with production growth picking up amid a faster increase in new orders. Both employment and purchasing activity were raised accordingly. Meanwhile, there were further cuts to producer prices as purchasing costs continued to tumble. The headline Markit/ADACI Italy Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 53.9 in April from March’s 53.5, signalling the strongest improvement in business conditions in 2016 so far. The index was also slightly above its average for 2015.
In the US session Manufacturing PMI figures were released. The April PMI registered 50.8 percent, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the March reading of 51.8 percent. Manufacturing registered growth in April for the second consecutive month, as 15 of our 18 industries reported an increase in new orders in April (up from 13 in March), and 15 of our 18 industries reported an increase in production in April (up from 12 in March).
We can expect less volatile session tomorrow, as there will be no data releases both from Eurozone and USA.
