- Prior 54.9
- Composite PMI 55.1
- Prior 54.0
Spain’s services sector continues to hold up well and remains one of the bright spots in the euro area economy. New business continues to pick up with demand conditions are noted to have improved, both domestically and abroad. HCOB notes that:
“The Spanish private sector continues its strong economic path. The HCOB Composite PMI increased slightly in February
from an already comfortable level. The services sector is acting as the driving force, while the PMI for the manufacturing
sector showed a contraction for the first time in over a year. Thus, the disparity between the two sectors is widening. The
general industrial weakness in Europe seems to be increasingly affecting Spain as well. However, the services sector
remains strong.
“Price pressures in Spain’s services sector are rising. Input price inflation has reached a one-year high, with wages
continuing to play a dominant role. Companies are attempting to pass these cost increases on to customers whenever
possible. The wage developments in the services sector are frequently mentioned by the ECB, which is likely not pleased
with this pattern. The trend of rising input prices in the Eurozone services sector has also been observed, according to
recent HCOB PMI data.
“Activity in Spain’s services sector remains high, which surveyed companies attribute to better sales figures. Demand
remains elevated, supported by a still robust order situation. Foreign orders have also grown for the third consecutive month.
As a result, the outlook remains optimistic, and companies are trying to hire more workers to keep up with the higher activity
and prevent backlogs from increasing further due to a high workload.”
