Eurozone: Manufacturing PMI at a 14-month low in March

The eurozone manufacturing sector slowed further at the end of the first quarter, amid rising inflation and geopolitical tensions, with the PMI falling to a 14-month low.

In particular, the manufacturing PMI fell to 56.5 points from 58.2 points in February, slipping to a 14-month low, according to final data from S&P Global.

The manufacturing output index fell to a 21-month low of 53.1 points in March from 55.5 points a month earlier.

“At the same time as the retreat of the last wave of the pandemic created favorable conditions for the recovery of manufacturing in the Eurozone, with economies reopening and supply chain disruptions easing, the war in Ukraine created a new ominous opposite.” , comments Chris Williamson, chief economist at S&P Global.

S&P Global data showed that all major European economies experienced a significant slowdown in activity. In Germany, the largest European economy, the index fell to an 18-month low of 56.9 points, while in France, the second largest, to a five-month low of 54.7 points. Same picture in the region, with the Italian index at a 14-month low and the Spanish at a 13-month low.