Spain April services PMI 57.1 vs 55.9 expected

• Prior 53.4

The reading points to solid growth in Spain's services sector as both activity and new business also rose at faster rates. That said, capacity constraints remain an issue and cost pressures are staying elevated with another historically sharp rise in output charges. S&P Global notes that:

"April proved to be a generally positive month for Spanish service sector companies, with growth in activity and new business picking up. Panellists widely commented that reduced COVID-19 restrictions were playing a key role in supporting higher market demand, albeit predominately from domestic clients: foreign sales and tourism activity appears to be lagging somewhat, perhaps understandably given the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and the impact on household budgets from rising energy and utility bills.

"And such pressures show little sign of dissipating: both cost and charge inflation in the Spanish service sector remained extremely elevated during April (in each case, rates of increase were the second-greatest in the survey history). The longer these high inflation rates continue the more concern there is that growth will eventually be hit at a delicate point in the sector's recovery from the devastating impacts of COVID-19 Covid-19 Covid-19 or the novel Coronavirus is a pandemic that has yielded wide ranging economic turmoil and volatility across financial markets in 2020. The first cases of Covid-19 were reported in Wuhan, China in late 2019. Since then, the virus has expanded globally, infecting millions worldwide. The virus has been extremely controversial, namely in the United States, which became heavily politicized during the 2020 presidential election. The Covid-19 pandemic is completely unprecedented in modern ti Covid-19 or the novel Coronavirus is a pandemic that has yielded wide ranging economic turmoil and volatility across financial markets in 2020. The first cases of Covid-19 were reported in Wuhan, China in late 2019. Since then, the virus has expanded globally, infecting millions worldwide. The virus has been extremely controversial, namely in the United States, which became heavily politicized during the 2020 presidential election. The Covid-19 pandemic is completely unprecedented in modern ti Read this Term."