Euro area manufacturing PMI index likely to have dropped slightly in May

Manufacturing industry globally has been rebounding from quite a subdued performance recorded in the last few years. The markets would be able to measure if the recent improvement in the manufacturing continues to be in place after the flash manufacturing PMIs are released for the euro area and Germany.

In April, the euro area manufacturing PMI was at a high of 56.7 in April. According to consensus expectations, the manufacturing PMI is expected to have dropped slightly to 56.5 in May. The manufacturing PMI has been gradually improving in the euro area since August 2016. In the meantime, the German manufacturing PMI is expected to have come down a bit to 58 in May from April’s reading of 58.2. If the projections are correct, it would be the second straight drop in the index in 2017.