Germany's business activity continues growing in May

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - S&P Global said on Tuesday that the German business activity continued growing in May, led by a strong post-lockdown recovery across the service sector.

Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) hit a two-month high in May at 54.7, up from 54.6 in April, the S&P Global said in a statement.

It warned that demand starting to come under pressure from market uncertainty, rising prices, and supply issues, with manufacturers reporting the steepest drop in new orders for almost two years.

Inflationary pressures remained elevated, although rates of both input cost and output price inflation ticked down slightly from April’s record highs.

Flash Germany PMI composite output index came in at 54.6 in May, slightly up from 54.3 a month ago, it noted.

The country's flash services PMI decreased to 56.3 this month versus 57.6 in April.

Phil Smith, the economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “A post-lockdown recovery in services activity continues to provide a strong tailwind for the German economy, with May’s "flash" PMI data signaling that output levels remain in growth territory."