Euro zone factory growth hits 6-month high in June

London, July 1: Euro zone business activity expanded at its fastest rate this year in June, but Britain’s vote to quit the European Union could cause it to slow in coming months.

Discounting helped drive up new orders and output, encouraging companies to hire more people to meet demand, according to Markit’s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

That survey, however, was largely conducted before the British referendum on June 23. The vote by Britain — already outside the euro zone — to leave the EU entirely sent shockwaves across the globe.

The Markit PMI for the euro zone climbed to 52.8 from May’s

London, July 1: British manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in five months in June before Britons voted to leave the European Union last week, according to a survey conducted almost entirely before the historic referendum. The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.1 in June from 50.4 in May. That was the strongest reading since January and better than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists, whose consensus forecast was a reading of 49.9. But data company Markit warned on Friday that “almost all” the data from manufacturers used in its survey were received before the June 23 referendum. “With 99% of survey responses received before the end of 23rd June, the latest PMI signalled that the manufacturing sector has started to move out of its early year sluggishness in the lead up to the UK’s EU referendum,” said Markit economist Rob Dobson. 51.5, higher than the earlier flash reading of 52.6. Anything above 50 indicates growth.

A sub-index measuring output Reuters that feeds into a composite PMI due on Tuesday jumped to 53.9 from 52.4. The flash estimate was 53.8. Reuters