- Material shortages also hold back UK recovery in July, while eurozone activity surges to 21-year peak and German growth hits record high
- US business activity slows despite manufacturing hitting record high
- UK retail sales grow 0.5% in June boosted by Euro 2020 food and drink spending
Time to wrap up for the day (and the week). Stock markets in Europe and the US are pushing higher, as the recovery from Monday’s sell-off continues. The Australian market closed at a record high.
Closely-watched industry surveys from IHS Markit have shown a slowdown in private sector growth in the US and UK, while business activity in the eurozone hit a 21-year high. In the US, manufacturing hit a record high while services slowed. In both the UK and the US shortages of materials and workers have hampered the economic recovery.
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Chris Williamson, chief business Economist at IHS Markit, says:
The provisional PMI data for July point to the pace of economic growth slowing for a second successive month, though importantly this cooling has followed an unprecedented growth spurt in May. Some moderation of service sector growth in particular was always on the cards after the initial reopening of the economy, and importantly we’re now seeing nicely-balanced strong growth across both manufacturing and services.
While the second quarter may therefore represent a peaking in the pace of economic growth according to the PMI, the third quarter is still looking encouragingly strong.
