(Kitco News) - Manufacturing numbers seem to be confirming a global slowdown in general but there have been a few decent results in the mix. In Europe, the largest economy (Germany) has shown a drop to its lowest level in 25 months. This now means predictions for a recession in the nation is looking more likely. In the rest of the Eurozone, business activity unexpectedly contracted this month due to an accelerating downturn in manufacturing and a near-stalling of service sector growth.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global said “The euro zone economy looks set to contract in the third quarter as business activity slipped into decline in July and forward-looking indicators hint at worse to come in the months ahead,”
In the U.K. the main number stayed above the 50.00 expansion number but that doesn't really tell the full story. New orders contracted at the quickest rate in two years. This could be showing that there are signs the economy is stalling somewhat. "Firms raised concerns about flat domestic demand, weaker export markets, inflationary pressure, the effect of the increased cost of living on consumer demand and supply chain issues," survey compiler S&P Global said.
Looking ahead, the market is due to get the latest numbers from America. The number is expected to print in expansionary territory at 52. This is just shy of last month's 52.7. U.S. futures are trading slightly higher this morning but a sign a recession could be coming may be taken with a mixed view. Some analysts believe this could kick start stimulus and think it favors stocks and some obviously have the opposite view with sluggish growth being a bad thing.
Australian Manufacturing PMI 55.7 vs Prev 56.2
Japanese Manufacturing PMI (Jul) 52.2 vs Prev 52.7
German Manufacturing PMI (Jul) 49.2 vs exp 50.6 52.0
Euro Area Manufacturing PMI (Jul) 49.6 vs exp 51.0 Prev 52.1
U.K. Manufacturing PMI 52.2 vs exp 52.0 Prev 52.8
U.S. Manufacturing PMI (Jul) Exp 52.0 Prev 52.7
