IHS Markit Chief Business Economist......>

DATA REACT: IHS Markit Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson getting into

some debate on Twitter re the flash Eurozone PMI numbers, particularly re why

we're not seeing more numbers above 50 given how bad May was.

- In response to Q to whether IHS Markit ensures survey participants are making

a month-to-month comparison rather than vs pre-COVID norm, @WilliamsonChris

replies: "we have done this and spoken to many companies who reported lower

output again in May and June. There is no evidence from the research we have

conducted so far to indicate that the companies are doing anything other than

month on month comparisons....many companies reporting lower output noted that

demand continued to weaken so they could be letting this sway their response

possibly, but I'm speculating here"

- In response to UBS's Paul Donovan's Q re "credit card, online and mobility

data not showing what the PMIs suggest if taken at face value", Williamson says:

"remember the PMI excludes the retail sector. Business services dominate the

service sector if retail is excluded. Hotels, restaurants etc only account for

around 6% or so of GDP so don't have a big influence on the numbers."