Weaker German, French economic data compound energy and euro woes
LONDON (Reuters) – Weakening economies in Germany and France piled more pressure on markets on Tuesday as decades-high inflation and surging gas prices drag Europe towards recession, pushing the euro to a 20-year low against the dollar.
The S&P flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which tracks manufacturing and services, showed that a downturn in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, deepened in August due to high inflation and rising interest rates.
The PMI data also showed that the French economy contracted in August for the first time in 18 months.
“The PMIs are going to feed into the pessimistic narrative,” said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets.
