Latest data released by Markit - 5 August 2020
- Prior 50.2
- Composite PMI 52.8 vs 52.0 expected
- Prior 49.7
There is some good and some bad from the report here, as Spanish economic activity grows slightly in July but the levels are relatively modest with incoming new business disappointing and firms continuing to operate below capacity.
The rate of growth for the services sector isn't suggestive of any material improvement from June and activity levels are still well below the historical average.
One of the brighter spots is that confidence levels still remain in positive territory, though many firms are still signalling considerable uncertainty surrounding the future outlook.
Markit notes that:
"The latest services data proved to be somewhat disappointing, with only muted growth of the service sector recorded and, most worrying of all, incoming new business failing to regain meaningful traction as the economy opened up.
"Hesitancy amongst businesses and households in committing to sales, plus the challenges related to operating in the current COVID-19 environment, had restricted new work in July. Panellists indicated that sub-par demand performance, plus ongoing reductions in outstanding business subsequently had led to redundancies and layoffs.
"Service providers are acutely aware that their business performance in the coming months will be primarily determined by the evolution of COVID-19. With recent reports of a spike in cases, plus some countries changing advice for citizens travelling to Spain likely to weigh heavily on the country's key tourism sector, uncertainty over the shape and speed of the recovery from the pandemic has inevitably increased."
