German output growth remains moderate in June - IHS Markit

According to the flash report from IHS Markit, German private sector output rose at a moderate overall pace at the end of the second quarter.

The IHS Markit Flash Germany Composite Output Index – which is based on approximately 85% of usual monthly replies – registered a reading of 52.6 in June, unchanged from May.

• Flash Germany Services PMI Activity Index at 55.6 (May: 55.4). 2 month high

• Flash Germany Manufacturing PMI(3) at 45.4 (May: 44.3). 4-month high.

The PMI data signalled that growth during the second quarter as a whole was the strongest since the third quarter of 2018. New work has risen only twice in the first six months of 2019. The latest expansion was also weak overall, albeit the best since last November. New export orders at goods producers fell for the tenth month running, albeit at the slowest pace since January. Private sector employment in Germany rose for a record sixty-eighth consecutive month in June. The rate of job creation remained stronger than the long run series average, but was unchanged from May’s three-year low. Cost pressures at private sector companies eased in June, notably at manufacturers. Average purchase prices at manufacturers fell at the fastest rate since April 2016. This drove overall input cost inflation across both manufacturing and services down to a 34-month low.  Finally, German private sector companies were less confident of output growth over the next 12 months. Overall sentiment was the weakest since October 2014 as confidence in the service sector took a hit during the latest period.