Thursday, November 6, 2014

Retail PMI Offers Little Consolation in the Wake of Disappointing Retail Sales

Following yesterday's rather disappointing retail sales data release, Markit's Retail PMI data (released today) were not very inspiring either:

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While Germany managed to register marginal growth, the rest of the region's major economies remain below 50, indicating continued contraction:

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Employment fell for the first time since May:

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And prices paid remain subdued, reaching an average of 60-month lows on a individual country basis:

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Actual sales versus expected sales rebounded somewhat but remains at very low levels while gross margins continue to shrink:

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