Up, Down Or Sideways?

Never before has global manufacturing activity loitered so long in what amounts to a neutral gear. That was one interesting takeaway from a new Goldman note which described the macro backdrop as "stuck between 'Goldilocks' and 'Reflation Flirtation.'" The figure below tallies consecutive months of global manufacturing PMI prints between 48 and 50. Long story short, the current streak has no precedent. In three quarters of a century, the closest thing was an eight-month span, less than half