News Bites
Good news from Europe and Asia on the manufacturing PMI front
(Kitco News) - It has been good news all round on the manufacturing front overnight and this morning. The US readers will wake up to read that German Manufacturing PMI hit 60.7 vs exp 60.6 (prev 57.1) and in the UK the number printed at Manufacturing PMI 55.1 vs exp 54.9 (prev 54.1) for February. Both nations comfortably beating consensus estimates.
It was not all good news, the UK report showed there were price increases and supply chain disruptions keeping growth modest despite new orders rising. Investment in good was the best performing sector and business optimism rose to a 77 month high.
In Germany, the survey data reported strong and accelerated growth in Germany's manufacturing sector, driven in part by robust demand from abroad. Again supply-side disruptions hindered more progress. Despite this, manufacturers remained strongly optimistic about the year-ahead outlook for production.
In the Asia Pac area, Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Feb) 50.9 vs exp 51.5 vs prev 51.5 and Australia's AIG Manufacturing Index (Feb) 58.8 vs prev 55.3. In Asia it was much of the same rising costs and supply issues seem to be the main concern.
In general, stock markets have been trading well this morning. The FTSE 100 is trading 1.61% higher while the Dax is trading just over 1% higher. In FX markets, the greenback made a comeback after trading lower in the Asian session. The Australian dollar is still holding up though trading 0.40 higher against the USD. Gold and silver also both remain in positive territory with the former at $1746/oz. Later in the session, we can see if the US can keep the trend going with US ISM Manufacturing PMI for February estimated to come in at 58.8.
