(Kitco News) - So far so good on the manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) results across the world. Overnight the main one to look out for came from China. The economic powerhouse posted a Caixin reading of 50.6 for the month of March marginally missing the 51.3 expected. Although it was a miss on expectations, at least it was above the 50 mark which means the sector is still in expansionary territory. In Australia, the AID manufacturing index beat the previous reading of 58.8 to reach 59.9. The nation has been hit by lockdowns recently but overall they seem to have handled moving back to normality better than most nations.
Over to Europe, the biggest manufacturing nation in the block is Germany. This morning the Germans recorded a reading of 66.6, this was in line with the analyst consensus readings. IHS Markit noted, PMI’s are at an all-time high in March amid unprecedented growth in new orders and record supply delays. Phil Smith, Associate Economics Director at IHS Markit, said “The German Manufacturing PMI marked its 25th anniversary in March with a record-high reading of 66.6, showing the goods-producing sector going from strength to strength.”.
In the U.K. the number also beat expectations and reached 58.9 (exp 57.9 prev 55.1) largely for the same reasons. Rob Dobson, Director at IHS Markit, which compiles the
survey “Signs of Spring have appeared in the UK manufacturing sector, with the PMI hitting its highest level in a decade. Growth of output, order books, and employment all gathered momentum and optimism about the year ahead improved further.
later in the session, we will get the U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI for March it is expected to print at 61.3 with the previous reading at 60.8. The U.S. is also preparing to come out of the latest lockdown period. President Joe Biden has urged some states to be cautious as numbers are still on the rise in certain areas but the vaccination program has also hit some small hiccups. President Biden also announced the latest infrastructure spending measures last night saying there will be $2 trillion spent on projects over the next 8 years. He also added all of the major contracts will be given to domestic firms. At the moment the market is in bullish mood let’s see if that can continue into the afternoon.