(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 4 mag -In April, the eurozone's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector rose to a 47-month high of 52.2 from 51.6 in March, according to data released by S&P Global.

The eurozone's PMI for manufacturing output increased to an eight-month high of 52.3 from 52.0 in March.

A reading above 50 signals expanding sector activity while one below a contraction.

"Although the PMI has risen to its highest for nearly four years, the survey is more a cause for alarm than celebration," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"Production and orders books are being buoyed by the building of safety stocks as a result of widespread concerns over supply shortages and rising prices emanating from the war in the Middle East.

"Look instead to the survey's future output expectations index for a truer picture of the economic situation that is developing in the eurozone. Manufacturers' optimism about the year ahead has sunk to its gloomiest for nearly one-and-a-half years, the war having shattered the growing confidence that had been building earlier in the year.

"Producers are concerned not only that the war will dampen demand, building on existing headwinds such as US tariffs and the Ukraine war, but also that war-related supply shortages will curb production in the months ahead.

"The danger is that policymakers may be lulled into complacency about economic growth in the face of these stronger headline PMI numbers, but there is a clear signal from the survey that this growth is not going to persist. On the other hand, the survey data also suggest that coming inflation shock may be greater than many have been anticipating, creating a major dilemma for rate setters.

"To put the price shock in perspective, the jump in manufacturers' selling price inflation in April was the sharpest recorded since eurozone PMI survey data were first available in 1997, reflecting the need to pass sharply higher costs onto customers. Over the two months since the war started, the jump in input cost inflation has been far larger than anything previously recorded over the survey's.

near-three-decade history."

(RADIOCOR) 04-05-26 10:11:35 (0177) 5 NNNN