Germany May final manufacturing PMI 50.1 vs 49.9 prelim

• Prior was 51.4

Key findings:

• Manufacturing sector stalls amid waning demand and soaring costs
• New orders fall for first time in 2026 so far, weighing on output growth
• Job cuts deepen as cost pressures reach highest since June 2022

Comment:

Phil Smith, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence:

“The upturn in the manufacturing sector stalled in May, confirming the warning signs from recent PMI surveys that growth – being driven by the frontloading of orders – was likely to fade.

“The true underlying health of demand appears to be showing itself, with new orders falling for the first time this year amid still-elevated levels of uncertainty and soaring prices.

“Cost pressures have continued to ratchet up across the manufacturing sector, though the rate output charge inflation stayed broadly in line with that seen in April as weakness in demand led some manufactures to be more cautious with their price setting.

“With margins under pressure, something had to give, and that ‘thing’ was employment, with factory jobs losses accelerating to the quickest since early 2025.

“Business expectations have steadied, recovering somewhat from April’s low, perhaps on hopes of a deal being reached to end the Middle East war. However, even if a peace agreement is reached and we start to see the Strait of Hormuz open up, there’s still going to be disruption and heightened inflationary pressure in the system for some time.”

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.