U.S. Factory PMI Back Above Eurozone PMI
June 1, 2015
The U.S. minus Euroland PMI spread rose 1.1 points to +0.6 points in May after negative differentials of -0.5 in April and -0.7 in March. Between November and February, the spread had narrowed from 7.5 points to 1.9 points.
A 1.3-point rise of the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index to 52.8 in May was led by faster positive growth in orders, a 3.4-point swing in jobs from a declining to a rising trend, and a 9-point slowdown in the contraction rate of prices.
Euroland’s PMI score of 52.2 reflected moderate expansion, similar to the pace in March and April when the readings were respectively at 52.2 and 52.0. Three economies had PMIs between 54.8 (Italy) and 55.8 (Spain), with The Netherlands at 55.5. Factory growth in Germany (51.1) and Austria (50.3) was meager, by comparison, and France’s reading of 49.4, though at a 12-month high still conveyed a modest rate of contraction.
Following a dozen consecutive months with a stronger average dollar level against the euro, the U.S. currency slid back about 3% on average during May.
| Mfg PMIs | U.S. | Euroland | Spread | EUR/USD |
| Jan 2013 | 53.1 | 47.9 | +5.2 | 1.330 |
| February | 53.1 | 47.9 | +5.2 | 1.334 |
| March | 51.5 | 46.8 | +4.7 | 1.295 |
| April | 50.0 | 46.7 | +3.3 | 1.301 |
| May | 50.0 | 48.3 | +1.7 | 1.299 |
| June | 52.5 | 48.8 | +3.7 | 1.319 |
| July | 54.9 | 50.3 | +4.6 | 1.309 |
| August | 56.3 | 51.4 | +4.9 | 1.331 |
| September | 56.0 | 51.1 | +4.9 | 1.335 |
| October | 56.6 | 51.3 | +5.3 | 1.364 |
| November | 57.0 | 51.6 | +5.4 | 1.349 |
| December | 56.5 | 52.7 | +3.8 | 1.370 |
| Jan 2014 | 51.3 | 54.0 | -2.7 | 1.361 |
| February | 54.3 | 53.2 | +1.1 | 1.366 |
| March | 54.4 | 53.0 | +1.4 | 1.380 |
| April | 55.3 | 53.4 | +1.9 | 1.380 |
| May | 55.6 | 52.2 | +3.4 | 1.374 |
| June | 55.7 | 51.8 | +3.9 | 1.360 |
| July | 56.4 | 51.8 | +4.6 | 1.354 |
| August | 58.1 | 50.7 | +7.4 | 1.332 |
| September | 56.1 | 50.3 | +5.8 | 1.290 |
| October | 57.9 | 50.6 | +7.3 | 1.268 |
| November | 57.6 | 50.1 | +7.5 | 1.247 |
| December | 55.1 | 50.6 | +4.5 | 1.232 |
| Jan 2015 | 53.5 | 51.0 | +2.5 | 1.162 |
| February | 52.9 | 51.0 | +1.9 | 1.135 |
| March | 51.5 | 52.2 | -0.7 | 1.083 |
| April | 51.5 | 52.0 | -0.5 | 1.081 |
| May | 52.8 | 52.2 | +0.6 | 1.116 |
Copyright 2015, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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