Eurozone surprised today after its final manufacturing PMI slipped - BBH

Research Team at TDS, notes that the Eurozone surprised today as its final manufacturing PMI slipped to 51.7 from 51.8 of the flash reading and 52.0 in July. 

Key Quotes

“It is the second consecutive decline.   Next week's service PMI is more important, not just because it is a larger part of the economy, but also because services reflect more domestic rather than international forces.  Yesterday's slightly softer than expected CPI also seemed to reflect weakness in service prices.  This is a yellow flag about the economic momentum, which will likely be noted by the ECB next week. 

The headline disappointment is minor compared with a couple of the country reports.  Germany matched the flash reading, so we cannot look to Berlin.  France's manufacturing PMI was revised down to 48.3 from 48.5 flash estimate and 48.6 in July.  It has not been above the 50 boom/bust level since February.  Italy was even a bigger disappointment.  Its reading fell to 49.8 from 51.2.  It is the first sub-50 reading since January 2015.”