Eurozone ‘stuck in mud’ despite slower business decline


FE Team | Published: November 23, 2023 22:44:30


Eurozone ‘stuck in mud’ despite slower business decline

BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (AFP): Eurozone business activity fell in November for the sixth straight month, but the rate of decline slowed from October, a closely-watched showed Thursday.
S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) improved to 47.1 from 46.5 in October, but that figure still points to the risk of recession in the final months of this year.
A result below 50 indicates contraction.
"The Eurozone economy is stuck in the mud. Over the last four to five months, the manufacturing and services sectors have both been experiencing a relatively constant contraction pace," said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, which works with S&P Global.
Its model "indicates the potential for a second consecutive quarter of shrinking GDP. This would align with the commonly accepted criterion for a technical recession."
Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, according to the latest figures from Eurostat, after a slight increase of 0.2 per cent in the second quarter.

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