Germany: Markit Manufacturing PMI jumps to 60.5 in January, new five-month high
- German Manufacturing and Services PMIs came in above expectations in January.
- EUR/USD continues to fluctuate in a relatively tight daily range.
The economic activity in Germany's manufacturing sector grew at its strongest pace in five months with Markit Manufacturing PMI jumping to 60.5 from 57.4 in December. This print surpassed the market expectation of 57.
Additionally, Markit Services PMI advanced to 52.2 from 48.7 in December, showing that Germany's service sector moved back into the expansion territory.
Commenting on the data, "January’s flash PMI numbers came in comfortably above consensus to show a surprisingly resilient performance from the German economy at the start of the year," noted Phil Smith, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit. "Still, rising costs remain a concern for businesses, with the survey data showing that input prices are continuing to rise sharply and on multiple fronts."
Market reaction
The shared currency failed to capitalize on the upbeat PMI readings and the EUR/USD pair was last seen posting small daily losses at 1.1326.