- Eurozone October flash services PMI 51.7 vs 52.5 expected
- Prior 53.0
- Eurozone October flash manufacturing PMI 52.4 vs 52.7 expected
- Prior 52.9
- Eurozone October flash composite PMI 51.9 vs 52.7 expected
- Prior 53.1
After the softer prints from France and Germany, the weaker-than-expected results for the overall euro area are not all too surprising. But at least for now, business activity continues to grow with both output and new orders increasing for the fourth successive month in October,
albeit at the slowest pace during this sequence.
A key drag on growth was a renewed drop in business activity
in the French services sector. But there were also signs of weakness elsewhere in the region as growth also edged lower in the
rest of the euro area for both the manufacturing and services sectors.
Looking to prices, manufacturers reported a sharp and accelerated increase in
input prices in October amid higher energy costs mostly. The latest rise
was the steepest since May and above the average for the
year-to-date. However, the rate of output
price inflation slowed in October at least with both Germany and France
posting weaker increases in selling prices than in September.
As for the rest of the euro area, they saw the rate of
inflation accelerate as a whole.
Overall, the data pretty much underscores that higher interest rates are also starting to take a toll and dampening demand. But the picture of sustained growth and more stubborn inflation pressures will
likely add to speculation of more aggressive policy
tightening from the ECB down the road.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
