Italy July services PMI 51.5 vs 52.2 expected

<ul><li>Prior 52.2</li><li>Composite PMI 48.9</li><li>Prior 49.7</li></ul><p>Italian services sector growth eases further in July as new business is headed for stagnation. Of note, there was a first drop in employment conditions since April 2021 as economic uncertainty is starting to creep back into the economy. HCOB notes that:</p><p>"In the face of a challenging economic landscape at the onset of the third quarter, the Italian service sector exhibits
remarkable resilience. Despite facing a third consecutive monthly decline, the HCOB PMI for the sector still registers
noteworthy growth, reaching a July value of 51.5.
</p><p>“In contrast to the industrial sector, services is grappling with the impact of surging input inflation. Despite this challenge,
companies maintain the ability to sustain output price increases for their services, likely driven by their market power.
</p><p>“Despite a dip in the values of both sub-indices for new business and new export business compared to the previous month,
service providers seem well-positioned for continued growth.
</p><p>“However, signalling potential challenges ahead, the service sector experienced a slight decline in headcount, marking the
first such instance since April 2021. The downturn in employment may be attributed to the fact that companies likely no
longer perceive the outlook for additional business quite as positively as earlier in the year.”</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.