Great Graphic: Euro Area Mfg PMIs

This Great Graphic is from Macro Business.  It pulls together the November manufacturing PMIs released earlier today.  There are a few take away observations.  

First, although the PMI for the area as whole improved to its best level since March, at 46.2, it is still below the 50 boom/bust level.  This means that the euro area manufacturing sector is still contracting, albeit at a slightly slower pace.  

Second, core countries, like Austria and the Netherlands, reported deterioration.  Although France is at at 3-month high, France's PMI actually slipped from the flash reading of 44.7 to 44.5.   Hence it was disappointing as well.  

In the periphery, Italy bucked the general improving trend slipping to 45.1 from 45.5.  Perhaps most disappointing was that its forward looking new order component fell to 42.2 from 44.4.    Meanwhile, Spain's 45.3 reading may be at a 15-month high, but hardly justifies Madrid's optimism that it can cut the deficit by 1.8% and only have the economy contract by 0.5% in 2013, suggesting a fiscal multiplier of 0.3 rather than closer to 1.0, which the market and IMF forecasts appear to assume in their GDP forecasts of -1.5%.