Bloomberg: Eurozone industry shows first growth since June 2022
Photo: Depositphotos

The eurozone's private sector showed the fastest growth in 15 months, and industry ended a three-year decline despite new US tariffs on European exports. About writes Bloomberg.

According to the S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the composite index rose to 51.1 in August, up from 50.9 in July.

A value above 50 indicates an expansion of economic activity. Analysts expected only 50.6.

Although the services sector weakened slightly, industry showed growth to 50.5, for the first time since June 2022, exceeding expectations for a slight slowdown.

Especially positive signals are coming from Germanywhere the industry is gradually emerging from a three-year decline.

"The situation is improving. Despite the challenges, such as US tariffs and general uncertainty, business in the eurozone is doing quite well," said Cyrus de la Rubia, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The euro remained stable against the dollar at $1.1654. Support was also seen in the bond market, with German ten-year bond yields rising two basis points to 2.73%.

The data demonstrate the resilience of the European economy to external challenges, including trade disputes and military conflicts. It also confirms the European Central Bank's position that there is no need to rush to cut the key policy rate.

President of the ECB Christine Lagarde noted that the 15% US duty on most European goods is slightly higher than the bank expected in its June forecasts, but much lower than the more severe scenario.

The economy of the 20-country eurozone unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in the second quarter, significantly less than the 0.6% growth in the previous three months, when growth was driven by premature purchases due to tariffs. Inflation is hovering around the ECB's 2% target.