Insights
Market Review - June 2020
June Overview
Given the COVID-19 outbreaks across EU countries in the bloc (especially Italy and Spain), it probably didn’t come as much of a shock that euro area Q1 GDP growth was -3.6% quarter on quarter. Measures to help protect jobs across the region meant that unemployment has remained relatively benign, only nudging up to 7.4% in May, not far above March’s record low 7.1%. As with many other countries, PMI figures in the euro area bounced, although are still hovering just below expansionary territory – the flash composite PMI for June was 47.5 (up from 31.9 in May). Early in June, the ECB’s Governing Council met and agreed a €600bn increase to the temporary pandemic emergency purchase programme, taking the expected total purchases under this programme to €1.35 trillion.
