German Preliminary Manufacturing PMI drops to 44.4 in March vs. 47.0 expected

• German Manufacturing PMI arrives at 44.4 in March vs. 47.0 expected.
• Services PMI in Germany jumps to 53.9 in March vs. 51.0 expected.
• EUR/USD keeps losses below 1.0800 on mixed German PMIs.

The German manufacturing sector activity continues to worsen in March despite falling inflationary pressures, the preliminary manufacturing activity report from S&P Global/BME research showed this Friday.

The Manufacturing PMI in Eurozone’s economic powerhouse came in at 44.4 this month vs. 47.0 expected and 46.3 prior. The index dropped to a new two-month low.

Meanwhile, Services PMI jumped from 50.9 in February to 53.9 in March as against the 51.0 consensus forecast. The PMI reached ten-month highs.

The S&P Global/BME Preliminary Germany Composite Output Index arrived at 52.6 in March vs. 51.0 expected and February’s 50.7. The gauge recorded its highest level in ten months.

Key comments from Phil Smith, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global

“The German economy took another small step in the right direction in March, according to latest flash PMI data.”

“Business activity increased for a second straight month and the rate of growth picked up, although it remained only modest overall due to continued weakness in manufacturing.”

FX implications

EUR/USD is keeping its downside momentum intact at around 1.0785 on the mixed German data.