Spanish Manufacturing PMI down, Italian at the highest level in 2016

Friday, Apr 01 2016

Business conditions in the Spanish manufacturing sector continued to improve at the end of the first quarter of the year, although there were signs of a slowdown in growth during March. Rates of expansion in output and new orders both eased, but employment continued to rise solidly. A further sharp reduction in input costs was recorded, and output prices were decreased accordingly. The seasonally adjusted Markit Spain Purchasing Managers’ Index posted 53.4 in March, down from 54.1 in February but still signalling a solid improvement in the health of the sector. Operating conditions have now strengthened in each of the past 28 months.

Italy's manufacturing sector regained some momentum in March, with output, new orders and exports all increasing at faster rates. Employment at factories rose as a result, although the pace of job creation eased slightly amid falling backlogs of work. Elsewhere, producer prices dropped to the greatest extent for over a year and cost pressures remained on the downside. After having fallen to a 12-month low of 52.2 in February, the headline Markit/ADACI Italy Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index recovered to 53.5 in March, its highest reading in 2016 so far. Nevertheless, the quarterly average for the first three months of the year was the lowest since the corresponding period of 2015.

Euro is currently being traded few points below 1.13 level. Pair is likely to find support around 1.13 handle and resistance above 1.1430 level. Later today, in the US session, NFP, Manufacturing PMI and Revised Consumer Sentiment figures are scheduled for a release.

More in this category: « China's PMI figures beat market forecasts UK Manufacturing PMI increased less then expected »