- Tuuli Koivu, Nordea
In September, business activity in the Euro zone grew at the slowest pace since the beginning of 2015, official figures showed on Friday. According to Markit Economics' preliminary report, the flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the region dropped to 52.6 from August's 52.9 points, falling behind the 52.8 market forecast. Furthermore, the preliminary services PMI declined to 52.1 from last month's 52.8. Economic desks expected the Index to remain unchanged from the previous month. However, the flash manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 in September from August's 51.7, while analysts anticipated a slight deceleration to 51.5.
In a separate report, Markit Economics said Germany's flash composite PMI plunged to 52.7 points in September, following last month's 53.3 and missing the 53.3 forecast. Moreover, the preliminary services PMI for the Euro zone's largest economy fell to 50.6 from August's 51.7, whereas economists penciled in an acceleration to 52.2 during the reported period. Nevertheless, the country's flash manufacturing PMI jumped to 54.3 in September, compared to the previous month's 53.6, while economic desks expected the indicator to come in at 53.2 in the reported month.
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