It's manufacturing PMI day in Europe today, meaning we're getting a reading on how the sector is doing in key economies across the continent. The continent-wide reading just came in at 52.3, against expectations of 52.4. July's figure was 52.4 too. That's not a big miss, but a miss none the less. Markit's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) gives an idea of business conditions as a whole across the sector. Any reading above 50 signals growth, while anything below means the manufacturing industry is shrinking. The big drags look to be France and Greece. Both have shrinking manufacturing sectors and France's is contracting faster than economists had forecast. Meanwhile, Spain, Italy and Germany are leading the pack with strong growth, although Italy's was lower than forecast. Here are the readings we've got so far for August: * Spain: 53.2 — in line with forecasts, below July's 53.6 figure. * Italy: 53.8 — below economists' forecasts of 54.8 and July's 55.3 figure. * France: 48.3 — below analysts' forecasts of 48.6, which was the same as July's figure. * Germany: 53.3 — above forecast of 53.2, which was July's reading. * Greece: 39.1 — July's figure was 30.2. * UK: — 51.5, below forecast of 52, down on July's reading of 51.9. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The rich and powerful are going crazy over these luxury SUVs with bathrooms and cable TV
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