How Germany’s Manufacturing Activity Was Trending in August 2017
According to a report by Markit Economics, Germany’s flash manufacturing PMI stood at 59.4 in August 2017 as compared to 58.1 in July.
Aug. 31 2017, Updated 11:36 a.m. ET
Germany’s flash manufacturing PMI in August
According to a report by Markit Economics, Germany’s flash manufacturing PMI stood at 59.4 in August 2017 as compared to 58.1 in July. The PMI figure beat the market expectations of 59.4.
The stronger performance in Germany’s flash manufacturing PMI was mainly due to the following factors:
- Production volume and output rose at a stronger rate in August 2017.
- The new business order and export orders showed solid improvements in August 2017.
- Employment rose at a stronger pace in August 2017.
Performance of various ETFs in August
The iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG), which tracks the performance of Germany’s economy, has fallen 0.2% so far in August 2017. The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK), which tracks Europe’s (HEDJ) (EZU) (IEV) economic performance, fell 0.7% so far in August 2017.
The weaker performance of major ETFs is signaling that investors remained cautious about the market in the midst of the 2Q17 earnings season. However, domestic demand picked up in August, which helped boost new business orders and production volume substantially during the month.
In the next part of this series, we’ll analyze the flash manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone in August 2017.