- Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit
Activity in the Euro zone's manufacturing sector grew at the same pace as in September, with mixed data coming from the region's biggest economies, Germany and France. The flash manufacturing PMI for the Euro bloc was at 52.0 points in October, remaining unchanged from the preceding month. At the same time, the region's services PMI climbed to 54.2 points this month, compared with 53.7 in September and analysts' forecasts for a decline to 53.5. In Germany, the Euro zone number one economy, the manufacturing sector activity declined to the lowest level in five months of 51.6. Yet, the reading remained in green territory. Meanwhile, the services sector improved in the reported month, with the corresponding reading coming in at 55.2 points. In France, the bloc's second biggest economy, both sectors remained in expansion territory, with the flash manufacturing PMI edging up further to 50.7 points and the flash services PMI hitting 52.3 points after September's 51.9.
Last week ECB President Mario Draghi said that the central bank is ready to deploy another big-bang stimulus package to support the economy, which could include more bond purchases and a cut to the already negative deposit rate.
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