- Markit chief economist Chris Williamson
Eurozone manufacturing contracted for a sixteenth consecutive month in November, a sign that the 17-nation economy will struggle to grow in the final three months of the year, Markit survey showed Monday. Manufacturing PMI improved to 46.2 in November from 45.4 in October, meeting analysts' expectations. The reading showed the slowest pace of contraction in eight months, but the downturn still remains severe and it will take some time before there is a solid and sustainable pickup. At the same time, rates of decline eased for Germany and France, where manufacturing activity rose to 46.8 and 44.5, respectively. Despite the slight improvement, Eurozone's economy is expected to contract by more than the 0.1% decline recorded for the previous quarter.
"While some comfort can be taken from the fact that overall euro-zone manufacturing activity contracted at the slowest rate for eight months in November with most countries seeing reduced declines, this is still a very weak report," said Howard Archer, chief euro-zone and U.K. economist for IHS Global Insight.
"The ongoing steep pace of manufacturing decline suggests that the regions recession will have deepened in the final quarter of the year, extending into a third successive quarter," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.
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