PMI (purchase managers’ indexes) data from countries around the world continue to fall.  The data is an indication of domestic economic strength based on domestic manufacturing purchases/production.

A rating above 50 is considered a good sign, below 50 is bad.  Many countries are stagnating around 50 right now.

Russia reports a PMI of 49.8, the worst since December 2009.  It’s the second decrease for Russia in three months.

Economists were surprised by the big drop for the United States.  In June the U.S. PMI was 55.3.  Economists expected a drop to 54.6 in July, but the July PMI actually dropped to 50.9.  The huge 5 point drop for the U.S. is being blamed on lack of consumer demand.

Hungary’s PMI dropped from 55.1 in June, to 52.2 July.  The Czech PMI fell to 53.4 in July.

In the United Kingdom it dropped from 51.4 in June to 49.1 in July: “The manufacturing PMI data was a really unpleasant surprise and suggests that the economic weakness in the U.K. is here to stay.”-Valentin Marinov, Citigroup

In the economic powerhouse of Europe, Germany saw a decrease in PMI from 54.6 in June, to 52 in July.  Surprisingly Poland is reporting a small increase, to 52.9.

The main reasons for the lackluster global PMI numbers is inflation in prices,  and reduced consumer demand.  Decreased consumer demand is being exacerbated by increased unemployment around the world.