Manufacturers in the Eurozone suffered a growth slowdown in April, completing a four-month of expansion.
Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 52 in April, a decrease from 52.2 in March.
A survey of private sector manufacturers – Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – published yesterday slipped to a score of 52 in April from 52.2 in March.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit said: “The eurozone manufacturing sector continued to grow in April, but the dip in the rate of expansion will serve to check recent optimism that the ECB’s quantitative easing programme has bought a guaranteed ticket to recovery for the region.
“Warning lights are flashing particularly brightly over France and Greece, both of which saw accelerating rates of decline at the start of the second quarter. Weaker rates of growth in Germany and Ireland are also cause for concern.
“However, the ECB asset purchase programme is still very much in its infancy, and given the concerns over Greece it’s not surprising that the road to recovery will be bumpy.
“Furthermore, alongside the still-resilient flash service sector numbers, the manufacturing PMI remains at a level consistent with euro area GDP rising at a quarterly rate of 0.4%.
“Price indices have also turned higher and manufacturers are taking on staff at the fastest rate since mid-2011. Policymakers should therefore be quietly confident that the region remains on a steady recovery trend.”
