Latest data released by Markit - 5 July 2018
- Prior 51.7
- France retail PMI 48.1 vs 50.7 prior
- Germany retail PMI 57.1 vs 55.5 prior
A very poor reading from France was offset by a solid reading from Germany. The French headline figure fell to its lowest since November 2016. Meanwhile, Germany's print was the highest in nearly three years.
Two very opposite readings, and an interesting thing to note about the French report here:
"Factors reported by panel members as likely to depress sales over the next three months include: fuel prices, strikes and an early France exit from the football World Cup".
Ironically, Germany is the one who suffered an early and embarrassing exit while France is up against Uruguay next in the quarterfinals. So, are we going to see the two readings swap places next month instead?
