The euro area recession eased somewhat in May

It turned out better than expected from the previous month, but the measure of economic activity, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the euro area, continues to point to a deep recession, according to a preliminary survey by the IHS Markit in London.

The preliminary value of composite PMI formed by aggregating manufacturing and service industry data for May rose to 30.5 points from the historical low of 13.6 points in the previous month, instead of the expected 25.0 points.

A PMI value of 50 points means that the performance of the examined economic activity is unchanged, a value above 50 points quantifies the rate of performance increase, and a value below 50 points quantifies its shrinkage. (MTI)