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05 August 2020 The services sector in Italy and in the rest of Europe returns to give positive signals in July, after the collapses in April. The services and composite SMEs (manufacturing and services) calculated by Ihs Markit, which records the indications of the purchasing managers and which is considered an important leading indicator of the economic trend, exceeds 50 points and therefore reposition itself above the threshold that separates the phases of expansion from those of contraction of the economy. In particular, the services PMI of Italy rebounded to 51.6 points, recording the first rise in 5 months, against 46.4 points in June, recording the first rise in two years.

 The Eurozone composite SME also stood at 54.9 points from 48.5 points in June. This is the fastest growing in two years now. Eurozone services PMI advanced to 54.7 points from 48.3 points in June, the first increase in activity in five months. In the Eurozone countries, expansion has been general and driven by the two main economies. France, with the most significant growth in almost two and a half years (57.3 points), has indicated a considerable increase in activity. Germany (55.3 points) benefited from the best rise in activity in just under two years. At the same time, Spain and Italy, respectively at 52.8 and 52.5 points indicated strong growth.

"With the progressive easing of the restrictions that allowed the economy to reopen," commented Ihs Markit economist Lewis Cooper, the Italian tertiary sector in July returned to expansion, with economic activity growing for the first time. once since February. After the unprecedented collapse we have witnessed in the past few months, the flow of new orders has shown a stable overall. That said, the data so far have indicated a still limited recovery, with a marginal rise in activity supported still once from outstanding orders, with companies continuing to mention how much the number of customers continues to remain very low. In addition, due to the ongoing global restrictive closures that are increasingly stifling international demand, foreign orders have again registered sharp contractions, however it is encouraging to note - adds the economist - that the outlook for the next 12 months has improved ra, with the Future Activity Index rising to the highest value in the last six months. This optimism is linked to improved demand conditions, the easing of Covid-19 containment measures and the hope of an economic recovery. Although the numbers currently show a recovery, there is still a long way to go after a collapse of this magnitude, with the current risks associated with the 'second wave of the pandemic and the reintroduction of containment measures. "


Retail trade returned to its pre-level -Pandemic


 In June 2020, the month of easing of some Covid-19 containment measures, retail trade increased by 5.7% in the euro area and 5.2% in the EU-27 compared to the previous month. had rebounded by 20.3% and 18.3% respectively. Eurostat reports, stating that "this means that retail trade volumes in both areas have returned to February 2020 levels, before the start of the containment ". In June 2020 compared to June 2019, trade rose by 1.3% in both areas.