France beats!
France is up first and here are the numbers (anything above 50 signals growth, below contraction):
- Manufacturing: 48.5 - lower than estimates of 48.8 and down from July's figure of 48.6;
- Services: 52 - a big beat on estimates of 50.5, which was July's reading;
- Composite: 51.6 - beating forecasts of 50.5, flat on July's figure.
Overall, that looks like a decent set of numbers from France. While manufacturing is still in decline, the service sector is picking up the slack and overall economic growth is outpacing estimates by a significant margin.
Financial data company IHS Markit is behind the numbers and Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at IHS Markit, says in a statement: "France's private sector economy gathered some momentum in August, raising hopes of a pick-up in GDP growth after the stagnation seen in the second quarter.
"A stronger contribution from the service sector bolstered overall output, while manufacturing held its ground to halt a recent slide. That said, the trend in incoming new business remains muted while firms indicated a return to job shedding in the latest month, suggesting that the recovery remains stuck in the slow lane."
From 8.30 a.m. BST (3.00 a.m. ET), we'll also be growth figures for the service sectors, manufacturing industries and overall economies of Germany and the EU as a whole.
July's figures showed that Britain's vote to leave the EU in late June had almost no effect on growth.
We'll have all the figures here as they come in, refresh for the latest info.