Manufacturing PMIs in the euro zone signal a severe manufacturing recession: Should they be believed?

Manufacturing PMIs in the euro zone are now extremely low, which would normally signal a severe manufacturing recession. Should this scenario be believed, or are qualitative factors (US protectionism, geopolitical tensions, Brexit) leading to overblown pessimism on the part of those companies surveyed? In the past, such a low level of PMIs has sometimes wrongly signalled a fall in production; D emand for industrial products continues to grow at a decent rate and has not weakened considerably. It is therefore likely that the manufacturing PMIs in the euro zone are overly pessimistic.