Latest data released by Markit - 21 May 2021
- Prior 50.3
- Manufacturing PMI 59.2 vs 58.5 expected
- Prior 58.9
- Composite PMI 57.0 vs 53.7 expected
- Prior 51.6
This is an impressive report with beats all around as the services and composite readings are at 10-month highs. Meanwhile, the solid manufacturing reading is also helped by the strongest output index in 40 months as overall growth gathers momentum.
Supply shortages are still evident so that is feeding to higher input cost inflation still.
Markit notes that:
"The French private sector moved up a gear in May as lockdown restrictions were eased and the economy began to reopen. There was a clear underlying improvement in demand as new work expanded at the fastest rate in over three years, while output expectations were the strongest since the composite series was first available in July 2012.
"The service sector drove the overall acceleration in growth during May, both in terms of output and new orders, although manufacturing continued to register comparatively faster rates of expansion. Manufacturers remained hindered, however, by ongoing supply shortages and delays, with average lead times lengthening at one of the most marked rates in the survey history.
"The latest survey also suggested that firms were struggling to recruit enough extra staff to keep on top of workloads. Employment rose at the slowest rate in four months, while backlogs increased at the strongest pace in over three years."
