Each of the report’s core four metrics, including the PMI, was down in August. Readings below 50.0, generally, indicate contracting.
Advertisement
Growth in the eurozone manufacturing sector lost momentum in August as rates of expansion slowed for production, new orders and new export business, resulting in weaker job creation, fresh data has indicated.
The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a closely watched gauge of factory activity, jumped to a 10-month high of 53.3 in August, recovering from the three-year low it hit in July after Britain’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union.
Elsewhere, the British pound GBP=D4 jumped to a one-month high of $1.3318 on Thursday and was last at $1.3280 after data showed the British manufacturing sector staged one of its sharpest rebounds on record in August.
“That is the lowest level since January, suggesting the recovery USA industrial production will be more drawn out”. Employers are expected to have added 180,000 jobs in August, according to economists.
USA equities took a tumble in early trading hours last night following the disappointing Manufacturing PMI data release. The Canadian dollar firmed slightly against the greenback on Thursday as oil prices slumped and an unexpected decline in USA manufacturing data cast some doubt on economic growth ahead of a key United States jobs report on Friday.
The index, compiled by Markit, was bolstered by new orders, which climbed for a second month in succession.
Yet oil prices have stabilized and many companies appear to have adjusted to the dollar’s strength. Investors are keenly attuned to data that could sway Federal Reserve policymakers considering whether to raise interest rates, possibly as soon as this month, with Friday’s nonfarm payrolls offering a major new insight.
The New Zealand dollar rose to 96.42 Australian cents from 96.13 cents late yesterday.
Other reports on manufacturing have been mostly positive. “We would expect manufacturing exports to fare well post-Brexit because they have the benefit to gain from falling sterling, but the surprise is that domestic business picked up too”.
That suggests that a weak global economy, which had cut into USA factories’ export sales, is fading as a headwind for US manufacturers.
Gold turned higher after tapping the lowest level in more than two months on Thursday, as the dollar fell on unexpectedly weak USA manufacturing data that raised doubts about the economy’s strength.
Advertisement
While production fell by just 9.4 points, it is now the subindex contracting the most rapidly at a level of 43.0.
