Europe’s economy has shown unexpected resilience, and it may even be recovering from a deep recession, according to PMI data from Markit that covers July, Since the EU economy is the largest by gross domestic product (GDP), the news should be heartening to the United States, and even battered China. which eventually will benefit from the recovery.
Markit reports:
Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index at 50.4 (48.7 in June). 18- month high.
Flash Eurozone Services PMI Activity Index at 49.6 (48.3 in June). 18-month high.
Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 50.1 (48.8 in June). 24-month high.
Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Output Index at 52.3 (49.8 in June). 25-month high
Europe has apparently pulled away from the problems of its weakest members. Given the deficits in Greece, Spain and Portugal, and their difficulty reaching austerity goals, southern Europe may fall behind the balance of the region, perhaps for year. Economists often have feared a two-tier recovery would tempt the European Union and International Monetary Fund to abandon efforts to help these three nations, if the numbers from the balance of Europe was big enough. None of the three has GDP that is large enough to effect the numbers of the region much.
The news about eurozone’s PMI has to be taken as good for the United States, which has a massive trading relationship with the European Union. A recovery in the region will particularly help American multinationals, which have repeatedly claimed that Europe is the single largest drag on their earnings.
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