A long-term slump in euro zone manufacturing may have turned around last month, a survey showed, improving business sentiment by showing new orders fell at the slowest pace in two years. HCOB’s final Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by S&P Global rose to 47.3 in May from 45.7 in April, below the 50 mark, showing economic activity growing for the 23rd consecutive month. That was slightly lower than the initial estimate of 47.4.
The index measuring output, which will be included in Wednesday’s composite PMI and is seen as a good gauge of the economy’s health, jumped to a 14-month high of 49.3 from 47.3 in April, although it was below an initial forecast of 49.6. This improvement may be at least partly due to a rebound in the new orders index, a measure of demand, from 44.1 to a two-year high of 47.3. Falling production costs are once again allowing factories to lower the prices they charge, which could give the European Central Bank room to cut interest rates on Thursday, a move widely expected as inflation eases.
