- Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit
Manufacturers in the Euro zone are enjoying a solid end to 2015, with a corresponding measure advancing in December to the highest level in almost two years. Markit's manufacturing PMI rose to 53.1 points in the current months, compared with 52.8 in November. At the same time, the flash reading of services PMI declined to 53.9 in December from 54.2 in November, underperforming expectations. As a result, Markit's composite PMI gauge, which measures business activity in both manufacturing and services sector, increased to 54.0, below the expected rise to 54.2. Markit said the data showed the Euro zone economy still enjoyed its strongest quarter for four and a half years.
The four biggest Euro zone economies saw their PMI gauges remain above the key 50.0 mark in November and December. Business activity in German factory industry increased, with PMI reading climbing to 53.0 up from November's 52.9. The French preliminary manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6 in the current month, better than analysts had expected and above the final reading of 50.6 in November. The PMI for Italy's manufacturing sector edged higher to 54.9 points in November, staying in the growth zone above 50.0 points for the tenth consecutive month.
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