April still seems OK, but there is a risk of the index falling below 50. The PMI index has not dipped below 50 since February 1999. The purchasing managers index is widely regarded as a leading indicator that can help predict the state of the economy in three to six months. Analysts take issue with the European Central Bank's resistance against cutting interest rates and warn that the eurozone is not immune to the US slowdown. The US economic weakness is expected to migrate to Europe as a fall in export orders feed through to production activity, analysts said.
Analysts expect Europe to follow suit.
The NAPM bottomed about three months ago and from our research the time lag between the US and the eurozone is around six months.