Italy April services PMI 52.9 vs 51.5 expected

• Services PMI 52.9 vs. 51.5 expected
• Prior 52.0
• Composite PMI 52.1 vs. 50.5 prior.

Key findings:

• Output and new orders up at sharper rates in April
• Cost pressures at their lowest in 2025 so far
• Business confidence drops to weakest level in four-and-a-half years

Comment:

Commenting on the PMI data, Dr. Cyrus de la Rubia, Chief Economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said:

“The growth trend appears to be consolidating. The Italian private sector has grown for three months in a row, led by the
service sector, while manufacturing output has practically stopped shrinking after a year. According to the Bank of Italy,
tourism and hospitality have supported growth in the service sector during the first months of the year, which suggests a
certain degree of sustainability. In the manufacturing sector, the question remains as to whether this sector could soon be hit
harder by US tariffs and EU countermeasures. For the year as a whole, we expect economic growth of around half a
percent.

“The service sector is showing relatively robust growth, which has accelerated slightly compared with the previous month.
Accordingly, service providers have once again hired more people, especially as they were also able to expand new
business more strongly than in March. It’s encouraging that most people were hired on a permanent basis, as panellists
said.

“Tariff uncertainty could also indirectly weigh on the service sector, with the challenging economic and geopolitical
climate mentioned by panellists as having weighed on expectations regarding future activity, with the index already well
below its long-term average. However, especially in these times, the service sector is likely to maintain its role as a stabiliser
of the Italian economy, which it has held for around two years.

“There is some slight relief on the cost side for service companies. Operating costs have not risen quite as sharply as in
previous months. However, companies were also unable to increase sales prices at the same pace as before and had to
settle for significantly lower increases, meaning that profit margins were unlikely to benefit.”

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at www.forexlive.com.