Latest data released by Markit - 5 October 2020
- Prior 47.1
- Composite PMI 50.4 vs 49.2 expected
- Prior 49.5
Italian services activity remained in contraction territory in September, with overall economic conditions stagnating for the most part once again.
The readings beat out expectations but amid the struggling momentum elsewhere in the region, it also doesn't really bode well for the outlook in Italy towards the year-end.
Markit notes that:
"The Italian services sector remained in contraction territory in September, with business activity declining for the second month in a row whilst new orders fell moderately again. International demand remained a key source of weakness, as the latest data pointed to a further marked reduction in new export orders.
"Job shedding continued into September, although the latest round of job cuts was the least widespread in the current seven-month sequence of falling employment. One positive sign came from the Future Activity Index, which signalled the strongest sentiment since March 2018, with firms confident of a global economic recovery.
"Goods producers were the saving grace of the Italian private sector in September, as a solid increase in factory production drove the fractional uptick in output at the composite level. Nonetheless, data make it clear that there are still major challenges for the Italian economy to overcome before a full-on recovery can be called, given the service sector is yet to see any sustained improvement in conditions following the pandemic."
