Quick Updates: European Services PMI Fails to Surprise the Market
The European Services PMI figures are out but failed to bring any volatility in the market. Here’s an update on them:
Spanish Services PMI – The Spanish service sector saw growth of activity quicken in January, despite a softer increase in new work at the start of the year. Companies were encouraged to take on extra staff at a faster pace, while business confidence improved. Meanwhile, input prices rose at a slightly softer pace, but output charge inflation ticked up. The headline Business Activity Index rose to 54.7 in January from 54.0 in December.
French Final Services PMI – Service providers in France recorded a second successive monthly contraction in business activity during January. Moreover, the pace of decline accelerated to its quickest for almost five years. The figure came out at 47.8 vs. 47.5 forecast.
German Final Services PMI – Germany’s service sector enjoyed a slightly firmer rate of business activity growth at the start of the year, according to the latest PMI survey, with business confidence towards the outlook also recovering slightly from the recent low in December. German Services PMI ticked up to 51.2 vs. 50.8 beforehand.