ETF Reports Eurozone Remains Weak

The Eurozone Retail PMI tracks month-on-month changes in the value of retail sales.  For March, the report shows an increase of only 49.2 from February’s 48.5.

Anything below 50 indicates contraction, so March brought the sixth sub-50 reading in the past seven months, according to Wall Street Sector.

“The retail sector remains an area of relative weakness in the eurozone economy, lagging behind the manufacturing and service sectors which have long been in growth phases,” Phil Smith, the economist from Markit who prepared the report said. “The retail data suggest that the worst may have passed, with trade stabilizing in France in line with positive trends elsewhere in the economy and Italian companies recording a much slower rate of decline. However, growth of any real kind in coming months will undoubtedly require a re-acceleration in Germany.”

The MSCI Europe Index tracks the Europe stock market through studying the performance of top companies and sectors in developed Europe including France, Germany, Greece, The United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, and Italy.

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