Week in review
- Eurzone consumer confidence rises to 23.9
- Eurozone PMI manufacturing 47.3
- U.S. PMI manufacturing 47.6
Week ahead
- Australia private sector credit and retail sales
- U.S. nonfarm payrolls and labour market report
- Eurozone CPI inflation
Thought of the week
The monthly PMIs are one of the best indicators of where the economy is heading given their high correlation with the direction of GDP. Across developed markets, the PMIs are firmly below the level of 50 which indicates an economic contraction is around the corner. However, the latest figures show a small improvement in the UK and Eurozone, while the U.S. figure continues to decline. This signal is perhaps at odds with the broader narrative that Europe is heading for recession but the U.S. may still skirt around one. Heading into 2023 the regional differences in economic activity will have important ramifications for the direction of equity markets as relative valuations are more favourable for the Eurozone compared to the U.S. Similarly, better relative growth outside of the U.S. would be one reason to see the U.S. dollar depreciate in the year ahead. The timing of a recession and which region experiences one and which doesn’t may be semantics as the PMIs suggest global growth will be very weak next year.
PMIs point to manufacturing recession
Index