- Chris Williamson, chief economist at survey compiler Markit
Growth in the Euro zone manufacturing sector eased in January. According to Markit, the Euro bloc's manufacturing PMI dropped to 52.3 last month, compared with 53.2 recorded in December. The rates of growth of output, new orders, and new export business all weakened in the reported month. As for individual countries, the bright spot was Spain, where the manufacturing sector enjoyed the sharpest expansion in eight month in January. The Euro zone's fourth largest economy's factories saw their activity increase in January to 55.4, compared with December's reading of 53.0. The country's manufacturing sector has seen surging activity since November 2013, when the last reading below 50 was booked at 48.6. Fundamentals for the Spanish economy in January showed some positive improvements and 2016 so far appears to be a year of further recovery after years in a deep financial crisis. Spain's economy managed to grow at the end of last year, The country's economy expanded by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. On an annual basis, the nation's economy grew 3.5%, compared to the previous figure of 3.4% and expectations that it would remain the same.
Meanwhile, in France, the Euro zone's second biggest economy, the manufacturing PMI booked 50.0 in January, down from 51.4 in the prior month. The German manufacturing also disappointed.
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