Here are some of the highlights:

• Total new business inflows fall at fastest pace in 2.5 years (France)
• Hiring pace slows to weakest in a year (France)
• Total new business inflows see sharpest drop in more than 3 years (Germany)
• Firms’ expectations of future activity are negative for the first time since December (Germany)
• Total job creation rate was joint weakest in 2½ years (Germany)
• Manufacturing wages saw first drop in numbers since January 2021 (Germany)
• Costs in the service sector rise sharply, even exceeding June (Germany)

The above is somewhat offset by the fact that employment conditions in France remain relatively solid and business expectations are still holding there. In fact, despite all the pessimism, French business confidence strengthened for the first time since March.

As for Germany, the only saving grace is that overall price pressures are showing further signs of easing in July – albeit mostly from the manufacturing sector. The same is observed in France as well, so at least it helps distort the inflation picture a bit. However, rising costs in the services sector are a concern and may continue to weigh on the ECB ahead of September.