Weak Manufacturing Numbers In Europe

Good morning!

Manufacturing data is fresh out from Europe, and it's fairly week looking. While some countries are doing well (EG Spain), the big powerhouses like Germany and France aren't so great. German manufacturing has slowed to a 7-month low. Meanwhile, France is at a 4-month low, and it remains in contraction.

The following table and chart from Markit tell the story:

Also out this morning is weak inflation data from Germany, which is helping to confirm a story that perhaps the German economy is really running low on gas.

All this will only put more pressure on the ECB to ease policy, which it is expected to to this week.

The Euro is sliding.