• Prior 49.8
• Composite PMI 50.4 vs 50.5 prior

Key findings:

• Italian service providers face strongest cost pressures since start of 2023
• Business activity falls for third month running
• New business back in contraction
• Rate of cost inflation hits 40-month high

Comment:

Eleanor Dennison, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence:

“The Italian private sector continued to rely on the manufacturing boost brought on by panic-driven stockpiling to avoid a contraction in May. Although there was little change at the top level, if we lift the lid, we can see that the services economy is struggling in the face external challenges, contributing to dampened demand, particularly from domestic customers.

“The fate of the services sector hangs on a multitude of factors, but most heavily on the length of the war in the Middle East. The subsequent impact on inflationary pressures has been significant, and we are yet to know if the prices have reached their peak.

“Glimmers of hope can be seen in the report’s employment and confidence gauges, however. Jobs growth is yet to have been derailed, and tentative improvements were seen in business optimism for the year ahead.”

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.