Euro Zone Manufacturing Growth Hits Four-Year High
The euro zone's manufacturing sector experienced its strongest growth in over four years in August, driven by a significant increase in new and export orders. According to S&P Global's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the reading rose to 52.7 in August from 51.9 in July, with factory output accelerating to a 54-month high of 53.3.
The strongest rise in new orders since early 2022 and export orders rising for only the second time in 4-1/2 years provided notable support to the growth. Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands saw particularly strong overseas sales, while factory output growth was driven by intermediate goods such as chemicals, metals, and electronic components.
However, Italy saw its first contraction since January, and Spain was also in negative territory. Employment was broadly unchanged, ending over three years of consecutive monthly declines, but input cost inflation eased to a six-month low.