Data on PMI keeps coming out. Yesterday the centre of attention was Europe as Markit Economics made another warning of a recession spreading in the region.
In April the Manufacturing PMI in the Eurozone dropped to its low over the last 34 months - 45.9 points. It should be noted that index readings below 50 suggest an economic slump.
A decline has been observed in all the Eurozone members, except for France where the PMI went slightly up by 0.2 points. There are only two countries with the PMI running over 50 points - Austria and Ireland. Yet, taking into account the downward tendency, these two countries may well see the index fall below the 50-point benchmark.
This is exactly what happened to Switzerland: its PMI unexpectedly tumbled from 51.1 to 46.9 points.
Analysts had projected a much milder decrease in Swiss PMI - to mere 51 points.
As a result, the Swiss franc plunged by 70 points versus the US dollar. The USD/CHF rate moved up to 91.5 Rapens.
