Eurozone Private-Sector Activity Slows; Surveys Indicate Currency Area's Economic Weakness Will Continue
Activity in the eurozone's private sector slowed in November, according to surveys of purchasing managers, an indication the currency area's economy will continue to grow weakly, if at all, in the final quarter of the year.</br></br>The surveys also found that businesses again cut their prices in the face of weak demand, a development that will concern the European Central Bank, which is struggling to raise the currency area's inflation rate from the very low level it has settled at for more than a year.</br></br>Data firm Markit on Thursday said its composite purchasing managers index--a measure of activity in the manufacturing and services sectors in the currency bloc--fell to 51.4 from 52.1 in October, reaching a 16-month low. A reading below 50.0 indicates activity is declining, while a reading above that level indicates it is increasing.</br></br>Preliminary results from Markit's survey of 5,000 manufacturers and service providers also showed that a significant pickup in activity is unlikely in the coming months, with new orders falling for the first time since July 2013, while employment was unchanged.</br></br>The surveys also found that businesses continued to cut their prices, although at a slightly less aggressive pace.