Latest data released by Markit - 22 June 2018
The manufacturing print falls to an 18-month low, but the services and composite print beats expectations and the former sits at a 4-month high. A similar pattern as observed in the French and German readings earlier, not much of a surprise there.
The employment index for the services front touched a reading of 55.2, which is the highest in a decade and that is among the key contributors for the positive beat. But I'm still not too convinced about the overall picture despite the more upbeat composite readings.
The manufacturing prints continue to disappoint and that is evidence of a slowdown in exports/trade, which is beginning to be a real problem for the German economy now with the US-China trade rhetoric still brewing. The new orders index fell to a 22-month low while the manufacturing output index fell to a 19-month low, and that is typically not a good sign that trade data is set to improve any time soon.
