The eurozone's private sector activity contracted slightly in October, marking the second consecutive month of decline. The eurozone's private sector contracted for the second consecutive month in October, with the PMI rising slightly to 49.7.
Services slowed more than expected, and manufacturing remained in contraction. Germany showed improvement, but France worsened significantly. According to the Flash Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), business output edged up from 49.
6 in September to 49.7 in October, though it fell short of the expected 49.8.
Any reading below 50 indicates contraction in output. The services sector saw only a slight easing in expansion, with the PMI for services falling marginally to 51.2 from 51.
4 in September, missing the expected 51.5. Meanwhile, the contraction in the manufacturing sector softened, with the manufacturing PMI improving to 45.
9, up from 45, and better than the predicted 45.3. New orders continued to decline for the fifth month running, and the downturn was almost identical in pace to that seen in September.
International demand remained weak, as export orders fell at one of the fastest rates this year. Businesses responded to the challenging conditions by scaling back purchasing activities and reducing both their inventories of raw materials and finished goods. Employment figures also reflected the economic strain, as firms in the eurozone reduced workforce numbers for the third consecutive month.
The decline in empl.