Fra Markit – læs hele meddelelsen her:
“Eurozone manufacturing ended 2020 on an
encouragingly strong note, with production growth
accelerating to one of the fastest seen over the past
three years. The solid performance of
manufacturing amid the tightening of COVID-19
restrictions in the closing months of 2020
represents a major contrast to the lockdowns earlier
in the year, with factories acting as a crucial support
to the economy as the service sector is hit by tough
social distancing measures.
“The strong manufacturing growth is thanks to a
large extent on booming demand for German
goods, which drove most of the increase in
eurozone production during December, in turn
buoyed by rising exports. While robust expansions
were also seen in the Netherlands and Ireland,
these in part reflected a temporary spike in UK
demand prior to the end of the Brexit transition
period.
“Employment continued to be cut, but this follows a
similar pattern to the recovery from the global
financial crisis, with the job market improvement
coming later than the rise in production. Assuming
output growth can be sustained, jobs should soon
follow.
“The economy consequently looks set to be hit by
the pandemic in the fourth quarter far less than the
unprecedented decline in the second quarter
thanks to the resilience of manufacturing, and an
improvement in business expectations for 12
months ahead to the highest for almost three years
suggests that momentum can be sustained in 2021.
Rising virus case numbers are nevertheless likely
to mean trading conditions remain challenging in
the near-term and therefore constrain growth.”
