HCOB eurozone manufacturing PMI final reading came in at 51.6 in May — down from April’s near four-year high of 52.2 but above the 51.4 flash, with the sector expanding for a fourth straight month even as new orders stagnated, employment continued to decline, and input prices and output charges surged to four-year and 3.5-year highs respectively.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI returned above the threshold at 50.1; French May inflation climbed to its highest since February 2024; Spain’s core prices nudged higher. The G6 finance ministers from Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain meet in Berlin today.
Chancellor Merz delivers a keynote at the Ostdeutsches Wirtschaftsforum in Bad Saarow and addresses the CDU North Rhine-Westphalia Klausur in Meschede. The OECD slashed UK 2026 growth forecast to 0.7% from 1.2%.
Today’s Europe Intelligence Brief covers the region’s finance, markets, economy, and politics — compiled across German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and English sources.
Eurozone — PMI Threshold Paradox
