Add as a preferred source on GoogleEurozone Business Growth Cools as October Flash PMI Slips to 51.9
Services activity and manufacturing output both slowed, while the composite stayed above 50 and new orders continued to grow for a fourth month.
Eurozone private-sector activity expanded at a slower pace in October, with the preliminary composite index falling to a four-month low and pointing to softer momentum across services and manufacturing.
October’s composite output index registered 51.9, down from 53.1 in September, a 1.2-point decline. It was the weakest result in four months but stayed above 50, the level that signals expansion from the previous month. The flash estimate used about 85% of usual survey responses and was preliminary. It was released Friday, Oct. 23, at 4 a.m. ET (08:00 UTC).
Services business activity dropped to 51.7 from 53.0, marking a two-month low. The headline manufacturing PMI eased to 52.4 from 52.9, while a separate manufacturing output index also registered 52.4, down from 53.6. Those changes were declines of 1.3 points for services, 0.5 point for the headline manufacturing PMI and 1.2 points for manufacturing output. The output index is the manufacturing measure that feeds into the composite; the two manufacturing readings are separate series.
New orders expanded for a fourth consecutive month, but the pace of growth was the slowest in that period. Manufacturers reported a sharp increase in input costs, including expenses tied to energy, fuel and transport. Output-price increases slowed from September, while hiring was broadly unchanged. Each of the main October readings remained above 50, signaling expansion even as activity lost momentum.
Country-level results differed. Germany’s composite PMI remained in expansion at 52.8, down from 53.8 in September, while France’s reading fell into contraction at 48.4, compared with 51.1 a month earlier. The national figures show that eurozone activity was uneven across the bloc.
The survey was consistent with quarterly GDP growth at a 0.3% pace, compared with 0.4% in September. That is a survey-based estimate rather than an official GDP figure. The survey’s price measures pointed to inflation remaining above the European Central Bank’s 2% target. Slower growth could temper appetite for further rate increases.