Euro area flash PMI: still declining in April
According to Markit flash PMI, t he euro area composite PMI declined slightly further in April to 51.3 ( from 51. 6 in March ) while consensus was expecting a slight improvement . The resilience of the service sector has weakened: PMI service sector index has dropped more than expected from 53.3 to 52.5. However, t he manufacturing index has stopped declin ing (47. 8 after 4 7 . 5 in March ) , remaining well anchored in the contraction area . These PMI figures are compatible with our GDP forecast of 0 . 3 % QoQ in Q1 and Q2 2019.