Spain: An optimistic PMI reading – ING

Steven Trypsteen, economist at ING, notes that the Spain’s March manufacturing surprised on the upside and is back in expansionary territory as the index rose from 49.9 in February to 50.9.

Key Quotes

“This is in contrast to the dynamics in the Eurozone as a whole, where the PMI for the manufacturing sector declined a little bit further and remains under the critical level of 50.”

“The improvement in Spain was due to gains in output, new orders and employment. Even though the improvement is marginal, this is good news for the Spanish economy. Certainly given the recent downward revision of fourth quarter GDP growth to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter from 0.7%.”

“Looking ahead, we foresee a quarterly growth rate of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2019 and an annual growth rate of 2% in 2019 and 1.6% in 2020.”