Eurozone stalling as German gloom bites: Manufacturing slowdown drags down economy amid recession fears
The eurozone economy has almost ground to a halt after being hit by a downturn in Germany’s vital manufacturing sector.
Business conditions in German factories fell to their worst level in a decade in September, according to a survey of executives produced by data analysts IHS Markit.
This raises the risk that Germany, the largest national economy in Europe, will slump into a recession at the end of September.
![Business conditions in German factories fell to their worst level in a decade in September, according to a survey of executives produced by data analysts IHS Markit](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/09/23/20/18839484-7495581-image-a-1_1569265473041.jpg)
Business conditions in German factories fell to their worst level in a decade in September, according to a survey of executives produced by data analysts IHS Markit
The eurozone economy as a whole only just managed to stay in growth territory in September, as the reading on IHS’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.4.
Anything above 50 indicates the economy is growing, but this was the lowest reading for the eurozone since 2013.
While manufacturing figures were dismal, the eurozone’s services sector also grew at the slowest rate since December 2014, excluding data from the beginning of the year when the ‘yellow-vest’ protests in France disrupted business activity.
This is in contrast to the UK economy, which exceeded experts’ expectations in July when official data showed it growing by 0.3 per cent.
Commenting on the report, Phil Smith, principal economist at IHS Markit, said: ‘The manufacturing numbers are simply awful.’
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