Why Spain’s Service Activity Dropped in August 2017
According to a report by Markit Economics, the Spain Services PMI (purchasing managers’ index) stood at 56 in August compared with 57.6 in July.
Sept. 22 2017, Updated 7:38 a.m. ET
Spain’s services PMI in August
According to a report by Markit Economics, the Spain services PMI (purchasing managers’ index) stood at 56 in August compared with 57.6 in July. The PMI figure didn’t meet the preliminary market estimate of 57.
The softer performance in Spain’s services PMI was mainly due to the following factors:
- Production volumes and output slowed in August.
- New orders, business activity, and export orders showed softer improvement in August 2017.
- Employment growth also fell during the month.
Performance of various ETFs in August
The iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF (EWP), which tracks Spain’s performance, fell nearly 1.2% in August 2017. The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK), which tracks Europe’s (HEDJ) (EZU) (IEV) economic performance, rose marginally in August 2017.
Spain’s manufacturing PMI also weakened in August 2017. Both manufacturing and services PMI showed a weaker move mainly due to the fall in client demand. Domestic demand also weakened in the economy. Some issues in Spain’s political environment are hampering consumer confidence, but economic growth in Spain is improving gradually.
In the next part of this series, we’ll analyze the performance of the Eurozone services PMI in August 2017.