- Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Head of Eurogroup
While Greece continues to hit all headlines, Euro zone manufacturing activity rose to the highest level in more than a year in June, as growth increased in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. According to Markit, Euro zone manufacturing PMI climbed to 52.5 in June, up from 52.2 a month earlier. The German manufacturing sector gathered steam in June, with the corresponding gauge rising 51.9 points, compared with 51.1 in May. In France, business activity in the manufacturing sector returned to growth in the reported month following a contraction which lasted for more than a year. The French manufacturing PMI came in at 50.7, up from 49.4 seen in May. The PMI for the Italian manufacturing sector increased to 54.1 points in June.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confirmed that the referendum will take place on Sunday as it was initially scheduled. Tsipras calls Greeks for voting "No" to the terms of a proposed bailout deal by its international creditors. At the same time European leaders highlighted that there would be no talks before the referendum, even though they expressed readiness to hold further aid talks with Tsipras' government. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she would want to see reforms before resuming discussions on any new debt package.
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