EUR/USD off the highs as German Preliminary Manufacturing PMI misses estimates with 43.4
- German Manufacturing PMI arrives at 43.4 in December vs. 44.5 expected.
- German Services PMI stands at 52.0 in December vs. 52.0 expected.
The German manufacturing sector contraction unexpectedly picked up pace in December, the preliminary manufacturing activity report from IHS/Markit research showed this Monday.
The German Manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) arrived at 43.4 versus 44.5 expected and 44.1 previous, hitting two-month lows.
Meanwhile, Services PMI hit a four-month high level of 52.0 as against the previous month's reading of 51.7 and 52.0 anticipated.
The IHS Markit Flash Germany Composite Output Index remained unchanged in December at 49.4 vs. 49.9 expectations.
Key comments from Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit:
“With the headline composite PMI holding steady at 49.4 in December, the flash data point to a weak end to a difficult year for the German economy.”
“Manufacturing continues to weigh heavily on private sector output, with faster decreases in factory production and employment in December causing the manufacturing PMI to tick down for the first time in three months. Easing rates of decline in new orders and exports continue to provide glimmers of hope, however.”
On downbeat German PMI numbers, the EUR/USD pair dropped nearly 10-pips from near daily highs of 1.1150 to now trade near 1.1135 region.
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
