A recap of the headlines:
- France August flash services PMI 51.0 vs 53.0 expected
- Germany August flash manufacturing PMI 49.8 vs 48.2 expected
- Eurozone August flash services PMI 50.2 vs 50.5 expected
- UK August flash services PMI 52.5 vs 52.0 expected
To cut things short, some of the readings were not as bad as feared but they weren't any better than July either. Both the euro area and UK economies are slowing down at a quicker pace with the former pretty much guaranteed to see a contraction in economic output for Q3 already. Meanwhile, the UK is set to face stagnation all before the cost-of-living crisis worsens in the months ahead.
As much as markets would like to see the glass half full on this occasion, I don't think that view is one that will linger for long as there really isn't much else to cling on to besides some gentle comfort that it could have been worse.
