Eurozone private sector expanded at the slowest pace in six months in October as both manufacturers and service provides reported weaker expansions, final data from IHS Markit showed on Thursday.
The composite output index fell to 54.2 from 56.2 in September. The flash reading was 54.3.
Growth at goods producers slowed to a particularly notable degree in October as material shortages and supply bottlenecks squeezed production. Meanwhile, activity growth hit a six-month low at service providers as strong post-lockdown rates of expansion petered out.
The final services Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 54.6, down from 56.4 a month ago. The score was marginally below the flash level of 54.7.
Despite the slowdown, the rate of expansion remains consistent with quarterly GDP growth of 0.5 percent, but there is a worrying lack of clarity on the direction of travel in coming months, Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit said.
Germany recorded the softest increase in activity in October as both monitored sectors logged slowed rises in output and new orders. The final composite PMI declined to 52.0, as initially estimated, from 55.5 in September.
The services PMI dropped to 52.4, in line with the flash estimate, from 56.2 a month ago.
France’s private sector expanded at the slowest pace in six months in October. The survey showed a widening divergence between trends in the French manufacturing and service sector in October.
The final composite output index declined to 54.7 from 55.3 in the previous month. The reading matched the flash estimate. The final services PMI slid to 56.6, as initially estimated, from 56.2 a month ago.
The survey showed a ninth successive monthly upturn in Italian private sector output. That said, the latest reading was the lowest since April. The composite output index fell to 54.2 in October from 56.6 in September.
At 52.4, the services PMI registered the weakest level in the current six-month sequence of expansion, and down from 55.5 in September and below the expected score of 54.5.
Spain’s private sector growth continued its downward trend, softening for a fourth month in a row to reach its lowest since April. The composite output index fell to 56.2 from 57.0 in the previous month.
The services PMI came in at 56.6, down from 56.9 a month ago. However, the score was above economists’ forecast of 55.8.
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