The euro area economy slowed its contraction in June after two months in which it intensified in a context of decreasing inflationary pressures from the impact of the war on the Middle East, according to the PMI index.
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23/06/2026
by
Lusa
A estimate of the preliminary composite MIP index of the total euro area activity, prepared by S&P Global, is 49.5 points in June, a point above 48.5 registered in May, but still below 50 points separating the growth from contraction.
The data show a slowdown in the fall in activity in the service sector, whose index is 48.9 points, compared to the 47.7 points in May, thus reaching its highest value in the last three months.
For its part, industrial production continued to increase modestly, at 51.2 points, i.e. slightly below the value of May (51.3 points) and thus reaching its lowest value in the last five months.
The index shows a fall in total activity in the two main economies of the euro area, but although the contraction rate has decreased in France, in Germany the total activity has decreased more sharply over the last eighteen months.
For the rest of the euro area as a whole, total activity has increased modestly, with the highest growth since the beginning of the year.
Cost pressures continued to rise and the inflation rate slowed to its lowest level since the beginning of the war, with modest increases in prices paid both in the industrial and service sectors.
The industry also recorded longer but less marked delivery times for the longer suppliers, while the accumulated ‘stocks’ have been reduced.
In the labour market, the fall in employment slowed and approached its level of stabilization in June, with a marginal increase in the number of workers in the service sector, offset by sustained cuts in the industrial sector.
Germany continued to have a marked reduction in employment, while in France staff remained practically stable and, in the rest of the euro area as a whole, there was a modest increase in recruitment.
Business confidence increased for the second month in a row, with business activity growth forecasts for the next twelve months, which was widespread in the euro area, with the exception of Germany, where optimism declined slightly.
Chief Economist of S&P Global Market Intelligence, Chris Williamson, quoted by EPE, indicated that “the euro area economy is demonstrating sufficient resilience to avoid going into a recession”, while the data suggest that GDP has not changed during the second quarter.