At 52.0 in July, down from June's six-month high of 52.8, the final Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI came in slightly above its earlier flash estimate of 51.9. The PMI has now signalled expansion for 37 consecutive months.

The main factor underlying the drop in the headline index was a softer positive contribution from new order growth. Incoming new business rose at a weaker pace than in June and to a lesser extent than the average for the year-to-date. Although the rate of job creation also ticked lower, it remained among the fastest registered over the past five years. This partly reflected further solid growth in production volumes, which held steady at June's six-month peak, and a further accumulation of backlogs of work. Inflows of new Countries ranked by Manufacturing PMI.

Ireland manufacturing data released August 2nd export business* also improved during the latest survey month, albeit at a marginally slower pace, in part aided by the weak euro exchange rate.