- Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist
Spanish and Italian factories led a pick-up in the Euro zone manufacturing activity in May, while German consumer inflation climbed at the fastest pace in eight months as the European Central Bank's new stimulus programme yielded early results. The final manufacturing PMI for the Euro zone rose to 52.2 points in the reported month, compared to 52.0 in April and a flash reading of 52.3. The manufacturing sector in Germany, however, was in a worse shape in May compared to the preceding month. May's final PMI for Germany's manufacturing sector was at 51.1, down from April's final reading of 52.1 and below the preliminary estimate of 51.4. Meanwhile, German consumer prices rose 0.7% on year in May, up from 0.5% in the previous month. Business activity in France's manufacturing sector remained in red territory in May, but showed signs of a rebound, as the final manufacturing PMI came in at 49.4, compared with the preliminary reading of 49.3. It was the best reading in twelve months. Italy's manufacturing sector continued to improve in May, with the manufacturing PMI edging higher to 54.8 from 53.8 booked in the previous month, hitting the highest level in more than four years. Spain's manufacturing PMI kept its strong pace of growth in May, hitting the highest level in eight years and remained comfortably in expansion territory for the 18th consecutive month. The manufacturing PMI of the Euro area's fourth largest economy recorded 55.8 in the reported month, after the 54.2 in April.
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