Euro zone PMI data wildly exaggerated says economist
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), published by data firm IHS Marit, showed a six-year high in Eurozone manufacturing.
It also suggested Britain's recent export recovery ranks as the worst among Europe's major economies.
But Paul Donovan, managing director at UBS Wealth Management, dismissed the PMI as unreliable.
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It's a sentiment indicator, it's not a real-world indicator
He told US TV station CNBC earlier today: "This data has been wildly exaggerated.
"We do not have 3.5 or 4 per cent growth in Europe. We are not going to get 3.5 or 4 per cent growth in Europe.
"What we are seeing is a correction in a rather dubious indicator, frankly.Â
"It's a sentiment indicator, it's not a real-world indicator, and it's coming back down."
He added people do not fill in "these surveys" properly.
Mr Donovan said: "We can prove they don't fill in the surveys properly looking at the export numbers.Â
"We know that survey reliability has been declining in recent years, and we know that the survey data has been exaggerated for the last 12 months.
"It's due a correction, it doesn't tell us anything about the real world."
In response, Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, defended the "useful" economic indicator.
He explained: "What often happens is that the PMI increases, which the market reacts to.Â
"Production growth then increases, but part of this response comes via upward revisions to previous data.
"This is of little help to markets which tend to look forward, but it shows that the PMIs are a useful short leading/real time indicator."