https://www.cmegroup.com/content/dam/cmegroup/images/common/default/article-940x600.jpg
DE: PMI Manufacturing Final
| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | |
| Index | 50.7 | 50.7 to 50.7 | 50.9 | 49.1 |
Highlights
Germany's manufacturing sector showed that the manufacturing PMI rose to 50.9 in February from 49.1 in January, moving back above the 50.0 expansion line for the first time since mid-2022. This 44-month high signals that factory conditions have shifted from contraction to tentative growth.
The recovery is demand-led. Output increased for a second consecutive month, while new orders expanded at their fastest pace in almost four years, supported by firmer domestic and export demand. Backlogs rose marginally for the first time since May 2022, suggesting emerging capacity pressures. Although employment continued to decline, the pace of job cuts slowed markedly, indicating stabilisation rather than retrenchment.
Supply-side dynamics are becoming more complex. Input cost inflation accelerated to a three-year high, driven by metals, energy, wages, electronic components and CBAM-related costs. Delivery times lengthened further, hinting at some bottlenecks. Producers responded with modest factory gate price increases, only the third such rise in over two and a half years.
In summary, Germany's industrial engine is reigniting, but growth is returning alongside cost pressures. The sustainability of this upswing will depend on whether demand momentum can offset rising input inflation in the months ahead. These updates bring the RPI to minus 21 and the RPI-P to minus 12, indicating that economic activity continues to lag market expectations in Germany.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
The consensus sees no revision in the final for February from the flash at 50.7 and up from 49.1 in January final.
Definition
The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) provides an estimate of manufacturing business activity for the preceding month by using information obtained from a representative sector survey incorporating around 500 companies. Results are synthesised into a single index which can range between zero and 100. A reading above (below) 50 signals rising (falling) activity versus the previous month and the closer to 100 (zero) the faster is activity growing (contracting). The data are released by S&P Global.
Description
Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. By tracking economic data such as the ISM manufacturing index in the U.S. and the Markit PMIs elsewhere, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for the various markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly and causing potential inflationary pressures.
The S&P Global PMI manufacturing data give a detailed look at the manufacturing sector, how busy it is and where things are headed. Since the manufacturing sector is a major source of cyclical variability in the economy, this report has a big influence on the markets. And its sub-indexes provide a picture of orders, output, employment and prices.